Char Morett doesn't remember having this tough of a start to the regular season in her 22 years as the head coach of the Penn State field hockey team.
The No. 6 Nittany Lions will play five top-20 teams in the first month of their season. In the first two weeks of play alone, the team will go up against No. 8 Old Dominion, No. 2 Maryland, No. 4 Connecticut and No. 1 North Carolina.
"Our schedule at the beginning of the season is very challenging but also very welcoming because we'll know right away early on where we need to improve," Morett said during Monday's media day. "It will be a good competitive experience early to get ready for our conference games."
Although the Lions will be facing top teams, senior midfielder Allison Scola sees the schedule as a positive. She said the team will be able to gauge what its strengths and weaknesses are right away, allowing it to adjust before competing against other Big Ten opponents.
The team feels once it finds the right lineup and determines what roles each team member will be filling, the players will become more comfortable, allowing them to increase their level of play and be able to contend against other top teams.
"My hope is we see a big difference from Saturday to Saturday," Morett said. "I think you are going to see [that] they gain confidence with every game."
As Penn State looks ahead to its season opener against Old Dominion Saturday, senior goalkeeper Jen Beaumont said she hopes everyone on the team gets their "jitters" out about competing against top teams so they can put their skill to use. She said the team has a lot of skill this season, and once that is being utilized, the Lions will put up a fight against tough teams.
The Lions will also implement a new defensive system that will help slow down not only Old Dominion, but also other opponents throughout the season. Senior forward Jen Long said the defense can no longer overcrowd one side of the field, but rather they must spread out and attack from the back.
"We have a new system of defense that we have been working on in practice," Scola said. "These are very competitive teams, and we want to make sure we out-hustle them so we're the last team standing."
With Penn State being ranked No. 6, Morett and the players know that they too are a tough team to play. Morett said her team's on-field experience will pose a challenge to opposing teams.
Penn State along with Connecticut and North Carolina made it to the NCAA Final Four last season and are all favorites to make it there again this year.
"They're tough teams, but they also have to play us," Morett said. "I'm sure they're not looking at us being an easy game on their schedule either."
