Bucknell University
Penn State
Bucknell Field Hockey Takes 4-1 Loss at No. 11 Penn State
10/19/2010 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 19, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Kelly Bruvik (Skillman, N.J./Stuart Country Day) cashed in on her only shot of the night, scoring for the Bison late in the game, but Bucknell field hockey was unable to overcome a strong Penn State squad and fell 4-1 in University Park, Pa., on Tuesday night. The score was Bruvik's fifth in six games, giving the senior a team-best eight goals on the year.
Bucknell (6-9) had a difficult time getting its offense going against the No. 11 Nittany Lions (10-4). After being held without a shot for nearly 42 minutes, Mallory Smith (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) finally got one off. The Bison junior recorded a second shot a few minutes later, but Penn State's Ayla Halus turned away both attempts.
Not until Bruvik got a good look at the net did the Bucknell offense see some reward for its efforts. Bruvik tallied her eighth goal of the season on a breakaway with less than three minutes remaining in the game. The offensive push gave the co-captain her second career goal against Penn State, as she also broke up the shutout bid in last season's 2-1 loss.
Bruvik's goal gives her 24 for her career. That total ties her for ninth all-time at Bucknell with Jen Zimmerman. With 54 career points, Bruvik also moves past Meiko Boynton for 13th on the program's record list.
All four of Bucknell's shots on the night - Smith had three in addition to Bruvik's one - were on goal. Penn State recorded 13 shots with eight of the home team's attempts making it to the cage.
Although Penn State held the 8-0 edge in shots after the first half, Bucknell trailed only by a single goal. Hannah Allison scored an unassisted goal 20 minutes into play. The Nittany Lions' 1-0 advantage held for another 20 minutes before Jessica Longstreth added her team's first of three goals in the second half. Longstreth eventually ended the night with a pair of goals, while Jenny Purvis also got in the scorers' column.
Sarah Zargarpour (North Vancouver, Canada/Handsworth Secondary) made four saves and allowed all four goals to the Nittany Lions. The junior, who now has 99 career saves, took the loss in goal, dropping her record to 6-8. Halus did not allow a goal and made two saves before turning the game over to Ali Meves in the second half. Meves allowed the lone goal and made one save.
Bucknell's tough road schedule continues this weekend when it travels to No. 7 American for a noon matchup on Saturday in Washington, D.C. Action continues at Rutgers on Sunday with the game time in Piscataway, N.J., set for 1 p.m.
