Penn State field hockey earns numerous awards

Penn State field hockey head coach Char Morett was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, senior Natalie Berrena was named Offensive Player of the Year and three other Nittany Lions were named to the all conference teams announced Thursday night at the pre-Big Ten Tournament banquet, held at the University of Iowa.

Berrena, who was also a first-team All-Big Ten selection, was joined on that team by sophomore Kiersten Wood who was a unanimous selection. Seniors Bekah Hostetler and Sara Cahill were selected to the second team. Senior Molly Schriver was Penn State's Sportsmanship Award honoree.

Indiana's Kayla Bashore was named Player of the Year, while Iowa's Heather Schnepf was named Defensive Player of the Year. The Hawkeyes' Caitlin McCurdy snagged Freshman of the Year accolades.

Morett won the award after a record-setting season. She guided the squad to a 17-2 regular season record, which included a program-record 17-straight wins. She won her 300th game at Penn State when the Lions defeated Temple, 5-0, on Sept. 14. The award is Morett's third Big Ten Coach of the Year accolade after also earning top coaching honors in 1998 and 1993.