You can break out all of the over-used sports cliches in the world when looking at the Penn State field hockey team as it heads into the Big Ten tournament this weekend. It's a do or die game. It's gut-check time. It's a better team than the record says.
But what it all comes down to is whether the No. 18 Nittany Lions can advance far in the tournament. Their hopes of advancing to the NCAA tournament depend on it.
"We'd have to probably get to the final game to advance," Penn State field hockey coach Char Morett said. "Obviously, it would be nice to win the tournament and not have to worry about it."
Penn State (10-9, 3-3 Big Ten) is the No. 4 seed in the seven-team tournament and will face No. 5 Ohio State (9-9, 3-3) in the first round today at noon. In September, the Lions defeated the Buckeyes 3-1 on the road. Morett said she likes her team's chances in the contest.
"There are some matchups that look favorable to us, I think [this game] is a good matchup," she said.
While the team doesn't want to look too far ahead, there is some extra incentive for advancing to the second round. A win against the Buckeyes would create a second-round match against Michigan (14-5, 5-1).
The Wolverines are ranked eighth nationally and are the No. 1 seed in the tournament.
The Lions ended their regular season with a frustrating 1-0 loss to Michigan last Saturday at Bigler Field. The only goal of the game came after a lucky bounce off the Penn State crossbar fell right in front of the cage, which Michigan's Mary Fox quickly put away.
"That would be awesome," tri-captain Amanda Eckert said of the prospect of a Michigan rematch.
"A bunch of us were talking about it actually, I think [Michigan] is scared. They know the game [last] weekend was partly luck."
In the final regular season standings, Penn State tied Michigan for most shutouts among conference teams (8) and ranked second in goals allowed (23, 1.21 per game). But as the team's Achilles' heel all season-long, the offense is near the bottom of the conference in almost every category, most notably points (98, which is tied for last in the conference) and goals scored (38, tied for second last).
What is surprising is that Penn State actually ranked second in the league in shots on goal (318), suggesting that the team is getting enough chances offensively but is simply failing to put the ball in the cage.
Morett had the Lions work extra on their attack during practice this week.
"Monday and Tuesday were really intense, really hard practices," Eckert said. "We worked on the same things, spreading the field, two-touch passing and 7-on-7 play, a lot."
Eckert laughed when mentioning the 7-on-7 practices, acknowledging how often the team has played in overtime this season. Like the NHL, teams field a smaller team in overtime, in this case seven players apiece. She knows an overtime game is likely to occur with Penn State's tendency for close contests.
If the team can find a way to score some goals, they could play on for another day. But if the struggles continue, it could be an early exit for the Lions.
"Any team in the Big Ten could come out and win this tournament," Eckert said. "We just have to want it more."
