Penn State bolsters postseason hopes with massive upset win

It took nearly 75 minutes of action, but it was well worth the wait for the Penn State Nittany Lions Field Hockey team on Friday night at Char Morett-Curtiss Field.

On a night when they were missing grad student Anouk Knuvers, who is tied for third in the Big Ten in defensive saves and led the team in minutes through the season's first 12 games, the defense stepped up in a massive way against the No. 11 Iowa Hawkeyes, a team that had entered the game leading the Big Ten with an average of 3.73 goals per game.

Penn State held them to zero in State College.

The game was scoreless through regulation and through the first 10-minute overtime period. Then, for the third time this year, it was freshman Olivia Marthins who delivered the game-winner roughly five minutes into the second overtime, giving Penn State their first 6-0 start at home since 2016 and their second win over an opponent ranked No. 11 or higher this year.

Penn State remains the only unbeaten Big Ten team at home in 2025.

It was Marthins' third career goal, and all have been of the game-winning variety, including two in walk-off fashion.

She also scored an overtime game-winner in a September upset over then-No. 9 Saint Joseph's, the national runners-up in 2024, as well as the first of two goals in Penn State's shutout win over Big Ten rival Michigan State three weeks ago.

Iowa got off 16 shots, including five on goal, but sophomore goalkeeper Aby Deverka made five saves en route to her second consecutive home shutout.

Including overtimes, Penn State has allowed zero goals to Big Ten opponents across 10 periods of action at home this year, and Deverka's goals against average has dropped by more than 1.2 goals per game since her freshman season.

Aside from Deverka, who played all 75 minutes on Friday night, sophomore Morgan Snyder and freshman Cooper Cutchins led the team with 73 and 66 minutes, respectively, and their resilient performance on defense gave the high-powered Iowa offense very little room to breathe at any point throughout the contest.

All night long, the stingy defense made life extremely difficult on Iowa, namely on Dionne van Aalsum, who entered the night as the nation's leading scorer. Van Aalsum got off eight shots, but the one shot she got on goal was rejected by Deverka. Iowa failed to convert any of their four penalty corners into goals.

Things got chippy at several points throughout the evening, as you might expect in a low-scoring Big Ten matchup. At one point during the first overtime, Iowa's Felicia Zonnenberg, who suffered an apparent blow to the head earlier in the game, literally ran straight into Snyder as Snyder tried to make a play on the ball, causing Zonnenberg to roll straight up and over Snyder's back.

At the end of the night, it was a true all-around team effort for Penn State to secure a much-needed Big Ten upset, and the Nittany Lions are now 2-4 in conference play. The victory moved them ahead of Iowa for sixth place in the nine-team conference with two Big Ten games remaining on their regular season schedule.

The top seven teams qualify for the Big Ten tournament.

Big Ten tournament race: Where does Penn State stand?

Here's where things get interesting. At 2-4, Penn State now technically sits ahead of 1-3 Iowa, and they own the head-to-head tiebreaker. But the Hawkeyes have already beaten Indiana, and they've yet to take on winless Michigan State.

It's why, even with Friday night's win, Sunday's game against the Hoosiers, also at home, remains particularly crucial for the Nittany Lions.

Indiana upset No. 10 Maryland on Friday night, so they are also 1-3 in conference play. But Penn State lost to Maryland earlier in the year, so if this weekend, and really this whole season, has shown us anything, it's that the idea that anybody can beat anybody is a major understatement in a conference as stacked as the Big Ten is.

In 2024, Penn State ultimately missed out on the Big Ten tournament for the first time ever, and they missed out because they were on the wrong end of a tiebreaker for the seventh spot.

They tied Iowa at 2-6 in conference play, but Iowa owned the head-to-head tiebreaker. Penn State's wins came against Indiana and a winless Michigan State, but Indiana was able to win four Big Ten games, including one over Iowa.

Sunday's game against Indiana marks a quick turnaround for a team that put forth their best defensive effort of the season in a game that basically lasted for a full extra quarter.

Beyond that game, Penn State's lone remaining conference game on this year's regular season schedule is a home game against Rutgers (3-2 in Big Ten play) on Friday, October 31.

Iowa's remaining Big Ten regular season schedule includes games at Rutgers, against Michigan State (0-4), against Michigan (3-2), and at Ohio State (3-1). Indiana's includes games at Penn State, against Ohio State, against Michigan State, and at Michigan.

Still, one upset win doesn't seal the deal for Penn State, and they know there is still plenty of work to be done to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2023.

Penn State's job not finished after Iowa upset

When it comes to Big Ten tiebreakers featuring more than two teams, things can get quite complicated.

If the head-to-head tiebreaker cannot be applied, meaning if there's no head-to-head sweep by one team over the other teams involved in the tiebreaker (i.e. if Team A beat Team B, who beat Team C, who beat Team A), the first tiebreaker criteria establishes that overtime Big Ten wins are weighted less than regulation wins.

So with one regulation win and one overtime win, Penn State would by no means be locked into the tournament if they go 2-6 in the conference. A win over Indiana, however, would make it highly unlikely that they'd drop out of the top seven, even with a loss to Rutgers to end the regular season.

Wins over both Indiana and Rutgers would guarantee Penn State a spot in the tournament at 4-4, and an 8-0 home record (4-0 in the Big Ten) would give them their first undefeated record at University Park over an entire season since 1997.

Though things aren't nearly as clear as they'll likely be after Sunday, let's have an early look at how each scenario could play out.

Penn State Big Ten tournament scenarios

Beat Indiana and Rutgers

Penn State would be in the Big Ten tournament at 4-4.

Beat Indiana, not Rutgers

Penn State would be 3-5 and own the tiebreaker over both Iowa and Indiana. Indiana would only be able to jump Penn State by winning the remainder of their Big Ten games to get to 4-4, and Iowa would need to take three out of four to get to 4-4 themselves.

Both scenarios are unlikely, and Penn State would probably be safe. If they do happen, however, Michigan could also finish 3-5, and they own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Penn State, which would eliminate the Nittany Lions.

Beat Rutgers, not Indiana

Penn State would be 3-5, and this could set up chaos, which is why it's much more straightforward for them to beat Indiana if they do go 1-1 to wrap up Big Ten play. This would set up a scenario where Indiana would likely finish 3-5 at worst (assuming a win over Michigan State), and Rutgers or Iowa – possibly both – also potentially finish 3-5.

That's where the anything-but-straightforward tiebreaker process could come into play. Sorting out a three-way tie for sixth or even a four-way tie for fifth, with one team ultimately missing the tournament, would be sure to break hearts.

Lose to Indiana and Rutgers

Penn State would be 2-6 and need help. Ideally, Indiana would beat Michigan State so that they get to 3-5, thus removing them from a potential three-way tie with Iowa. Of course, this does mean Penn State would need Iowa to be 2-6 at best. This is certainly possible, considering their remaining schedule; it would likely require them to beat Michigan State but nobody else.

Unlike 2024, when both Penn State and Iowa finished 2-6, Penn State would own the head-to-head tiebreaker this time around.

Sunday's game against Indiana can be streamed live on B1G+ from Happy Valley beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET.