STATE COLLEGE — The State College High School field hockey team recovered from a three-game losing streak with a solid 5-0 victory over Carlisle last Tuesday, but that momentum did not last.
Two days later, the Little Lions traveled to face 5-1 Lower Dauphin in Hummelstown and were quieted by the Falcon defense in a 5-0 Mid-Penn loss.
Against Carlisle, the Little Lions shot out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on goals by sophomore Brynn Pezalski.
Pezalski scored first with an unassisted goal at the 8:36 mark and then she made it 2-0 with another unassisted goal with 3:42 left.
While the SC defense was holding Carlisle without a shot, Pezalski scored again, this time on an assist by Emme Antunez, with just 32 seconds left and gave the Lions a 3-0 lead.
Pezalski was not done at this point, and neither was the SC defense.
In the end, the Lions held Carlisle to just two shots on goal — both saved by goalie Cora Bierly — and no goals on the night.
Pezalski scored twice more. She scored her fourth goal at the 5:24 mark in the third quarter on an assist by Sadie Kocher and then added goal No. 5 in the fourth quarter on an assist by Antunez.
State College outshot Carlisle 27-2 and held a penalty corner advantage, 12-6.
For the season so far, Pezalski now has 11 goals, and Bierly saved 46 shots.
Two days later at Lower Dauphin, the script was flipped as the Falcons scored three first-quarter goals and held on for a 5-0 win over the Lions.
State College was able to play even-up over the middle two periods, but the Falcons added two more goals in the fourth quarter to wrap up the victory.
The Little Lions are now 3-4 for the season, 1-3 in the Mid-Penn.
Next up will be a trip to the MAX Field Hockey High School National Invitational in Conshohocken, before returning to Mid-Penn action against 6-1 Mechanicsburg at home on Sept. 24.
