Playing three games in three days during the Big Ten Field Hockey tournament is a grueling experience for any team. Playing three games in three days while the majority of the bench remains, well, on the bench, is nearly impossible. This quickly became apparent yesterday at Bigler Field.

When Michigan State's Veerle Goudswaard scored on a penalty corner only one minute and 46 seconds into her team's 5-3 win in the Big Ten championship game, it appeared as though Penn State had come out of the gates a little bit sluggish.

By the time Alexandra Kyser netted Michigan State's second goal only six minutes later, the Nittany Lions looked flatter than a week-old bottle of soda.

When Michelle Huynh-Ba scored yet another Michigan State goal two minutes later, it was obvious that Penn State was downright tired and in need of a spark off the bench.

The spark would come from midfielders Annelise Legel and Sarah Cahill- after the Nittany Lions had fallen behind 5-0 over ten minutes into the second half.

The Lions eventually staged a gutsy comeback attempt led by senior forward Timarie Legel, but three second-half goals were not enough to overcome an uninspired first half.

After using only one substitute Friday and Saturday to knock off number five seed Iowa and top seed Michigan, Penn State looked like a tired team badly in need of some fresh legs.

Cahill, a freshman who appeared in all but one regular season game did not see any tournament action until the second half yesterday, and during the first half it was apparent that other players who had picked up her minutes in the opening games of the tournament had little left in their tanks. Penn State's midfield was chronically slow getting up field after clearing the zone and this led to a shortage of scoring chances in the first half.

Penn State field hockey coach Charlene Morett downplayed the fatigue factor saying that she thought that her team's early struggles stemmed more from a tentative attitude than tired legs.

"Everyone had to play three games," she said, "We just didn't play with enough intensity in the first half."

Michele Madison, Michigan State field hockey coach, said that she was surprised by Penn State's slow start.

"We expected more pressure," she said, "when we have space it is easier for us to play to our tempo; it seemed like they may have been trying to save their legs."