Ohio State
Richmond
Pastor-Pitarque Seals 2-1 Victory for Ohio State On Penalty Stroke – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 3, 2011
COLUMBUS, Ohio – With the stick of sophomore Paula Pastor-Pitarque, the sixth-ranked Ohio State field hockey team defeated Richmond Saturday afternoon, 2-1, on a penalty stroke in a neutral-site matchup at JMU Field Hockey Complex in Harrisonburg, Va. After 70 minutes of regulation and two overtimes, Pastor-Pitarque sealed the win in exciting fashion on the Buckeyes’ ninth penalty stroke attempt.
“We really came together as a unit on both ends of the field in the second half,” head coach Anne Wilkinson said. “Paula came up big for us and had a spectacular goal to send it to strokes.”
With 26 seconds remaining in regulation, the 2010 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Pastor-Pitarque, notched her first goal (unassisted) of the season to tie the game, 1-1. The Buckeye forward drove into the circle and launched a backhanded shot from the center into the back of the cage.
The penalty stroke goal by the Barcelona, Spain, native marked the second gamewinner of her career.
Although the Buckeyes dominated the offensive end with a 33-3 advantage in shots, Richmond held a 1-0 lead headed into halftime.
In the first half, junior Danica Deckard had a great opportunity to give the Buckeyes’ an early in the first minutes of the game, but her shot went off the post – just inches away from her second goal of the season.
The Spiders struck first at 19:42 when Rebecca Barry with assist by Chelsea Davies following a penalty corner. The Richmond goal would be the only shot the Buckeye defense allowed in the first 35 minutes.
In the second half, the Scarlet and Gray posted 15 shots, but RU goalkeeper Anna Zarkoski denied the Buckeyes until the final seconds of regulation, collecting seven of her 19 saves. Ohio State also held a 21-3 advantage on penalty corners, including 10 in the final 35 minutes and another 10 penalty corners combined in the two overtimes.
The OSU defense got stronger as the second half went on, allowing just one shot in the two 15 minute overtimes. Senior goalkeeper Ally Tunitis improved to 1-3 in 2011, while Buckeye backs Jenn Sciulli, Laura Napolitano and Nora Murer each played the entire 100 minutes of competition.
The Buckeyes are back in action at James Madison at 2 p.m. Sunday at JMU Field Hockey Complex.
