The name Rachel Dawson will probably haunt and energize the Penn State field hockey team in its pursuit of a national championship in the next couple weeks.
Dawson, a North Carolina junior, ended a Penn State 17-game winning streak that began in the second game the season when she finalized a hat trick during the Nittany Lions' 3-2 overtime loss to the No. 4 Tar Heels yesterday afternoon. The winning streak was the longest in Penn State history.
The No. 6 Lions were all set for a perfect weekend heading into yesterday. On Friday afternoon, Penn State clinched sole possession of the Big Ten and finished with its first ever undefeated Big Ten schedule when the Lions won an overtime slugfest 4-3 against No. 8 Indiana on the road.
The Lions battled back three times to tie before sophomore Kiersten Wood found room on a breakaway. Her first shot was deflected by the goalie, but the determined Wood received her own rebound, dribbled to open space, and rattled the cage in the 75th minute of the monumental game.
"She is awesome," tri-captain Natalie Berrena said of Wood, "She's my favorite little one out there. I look up to her so much. I don't think she realizes how many people do."
Penn State coach Char Morett said she was proud that her team was able to pick up the overtime win in a place that had a unique homefield advantage.
"[Indiana] is a difficult place to play because it's indoors and it's a very tough environment," Morett said. "The girls showed a lot of perseverance and determination coming back from being down three times like that."
Wood said the feeling of winning the Big Ten championship, which is the fourth in Penn State's 14 year history in the conference, and first since 1998, hasn't sunk in yet.
"I think once we get to the tournament and we have our bye and stuff it'll be even better," Wood said. "It's an awesome feeling though."
The tough road weekend took its toll yesterday as Penn State's dreams of winning out the rest of the season were cut short in North Carolina.
Penn State came out looking like the same confident Lions who had stormed through the Big Ten. Annelise Legel gave the team an early lead when she netted the only goal of the first half, and the team played solid defense, limiting the Tar Heels to four shots.
The second half was a very different story, as Penn State found out what it was like to be on the other side of an offensive onslaught.
Morett said the team sat back on its heels after the first goal and lost some intensity.
North Carolina capitalized early on a penalty stroke and again on a penalty corner, quickly putting the Lions down 2-1 early in the second half.
Wood came up big once again for the Lions when she scored on an unassisted breakaway from the top of the circle to send the game into overtime.
Morett said the team morale at the end of regulation was good despite a flat defensive effort, where the Lions were outshot 14-6 in the second half. The team was feeling confident from the overtime victory on Friday and was unfazed by the challenge of another one.
The Tar Heels came out quickly in overtime, and a defensive lapse allowed Dawson to get open beyond the last line of Penn State players, leaving goalie Megan Akstin all alone. Dawson finished her shot at the top of the circle to put away the game -- and the Penn State win streak.
"It was frustrating because I think we had them," Wood said. "It was just an unlucky ending I guess."
Morett said the team could have played better against the Tar Heels, but said the loss didn't take anything away from their incredible season, pointing to the undefeated Big Ten schedule, as well as the streak as keystones.
"They know they are one of the best teams in the country, and they've played beyond my expectations," Morett said.
Wood said that she was excited for the opportunity to play the Tar Heels again in the NCAA tournament, if the team was to get the opportunity.
"We're definitely not going to let them beat us twice. The past two years we've lost to them by one goal. If we meet them again it will be a different game," Wood said.
