STATE COLLEGE — The State College field hockey team tangled with the two top Mid Penn Commonwealth teams this past week, and the Little Lions came up short on both occasions.
On Sept. 10 in Hummelstown, State College took on Lower Dauphin, and the Falcons scored four second-period goals on the way to a 7-1 victory.
In its next match at home on Sept. 15, State College hung tough with first-place Mechanicsburg, but a late second quarter goal by the Wildcats and then a quick third period score led to a 5-1 Mechanicsburg win.
State College held the high-powered Wildcats to just one goal in the first period, but two goals by Liberty Olivetti in the second period gave her team a three-goal advantage at halftime.
With just over three minutes into the third quarter, Olivetti completed her hat trick with an unassisted goal that gave the Wildcats a comfortable 4-0 lead.
State College kept at it, though, and midway through the fourth period, the Lions’ Sadie Kocher scored after an assist by Reagan Dare.
The goal cut the lead to 4-1, but time was short and the Mechanicsburg defense did its job and the Lions were unable to threaten again.
The last goal of the match came at the 1:43 mark by the Wildcats’ Carly Valentino.
State College goalie Cora Bierly made three saves, while Mechanicsburg outshot the Lions, 13-4.
On the 10th at Lower Dauphin, State College’s Brynn Pezalski scored first with an unassisted goal at the 8:51 mark in the first quarter.
That, unfortunately, would be the team’s only score as LDHS struck back with seven unanswered goals to take the 7-1 win.
The Falcons started with a goal by Chase Strohm that tied things at 1-1, and then they went on a four-goal spree in the second quarter to take a 5-1 halftime lead.
Strohm scored again in the third quarter, and Lily Rost finished the night with a goal three minutes into the fourth quarter.
Goal keeper Bierly recorded 15 saves, as the Falcons took 23 shots on goal.
The two losses put the Lions’ record at 2-6 overall and 1-5 in Mid Penn Conference play.
The team will take on Cedar Cliff at home on Tuesday, Sept. 23 and then travel to Central Dauphin on Sept. 25.
