59 minutes and 39.2 seconds into a scoreless Big Ten field hockey contest on Friday afternoon, the Michigan State Spartans celebrated what they believed would be the game-winning goal, one that would deliver them their first victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions since 2009 and first in East Lansing since 2008.
But Penn State goalkeeper Aby Deverka knew right away that the goal should not stand and signaled to the official, who waved it off after the ball appeared to have been hit off the wrong side of the Spartan attacker's stick.
The game went to overtime with a 0-0 score, and after taking 11 shots (five on goal) during regulation, the Nittany Lions finally capitalized less than a minute and a half into the extra period.
Junior Morgan Snyder set up sophomore Lara Pyle with an aerial pass from near midfield to just outside the circle, and Pyle delivered a strong pass into the circle to junior Ella Gaitan for the game-winning goal.
ella calls game 😤#GameOn | #PSUFH pic.twitter.com/XBTHCA3TGl
— Penn State Field Hockey (@PennStateFH) October 9, 2026
Penn State makes Michigan State pay after would-be winner waved off
Just 101.8 seconds after Michigan State's would-be game winner, Penn State scored the actual game winner.
Gaitan, in her first season with Penn State after transferring from Maryland, leads the Nittany Lions with eight goals. She was responsible for the game-winning assist in overtime in this past Sunday's non-conference victory against No. 19 Lafayette, and she has also scored two other game-winning goals this year.
She also had a game-saving defensive save in the team's first Big Ten win of the year, and their first conference road win since 2023, one week ago against Rutgers.
The win is Penn State's fourth in a row, and it's their 19th in a row over Michigan State dating back to 2010. They are now 7-4 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play this season, giving them as many overall victories and conference victories in 2026 as they had throughout the entire 2025 campaign (7-10, 2-6).
With five Big Ten games remaining on Penn State's 2026 schedule, a 2-1 record by no means locks the Nittany Lions into the conference tournament, even though they do only need to be ahead of two of the other eight teams in the standings to be inside the top seven and qualify.
Even with a 2-6 record in both 2024 and 2025, the Nittany Lions missed out on the postseason, due to parity throughout the rest of the conference. On both occasions, a team Penn State beat finished higher than the Nittany Lions did, since that team was able to beat multiple teams that beat the Nittany Lions.
But even though nothing is set in stone, Friday's win is a massive boost to both Penn State's postseason outlook and their confidence, as they aim to end their postseason drought and solidify themselves as a Big Ten contender.
Penn State gets massive boost after more Ella Gaitan heroics
First and foremost, Michigan State is a lot better than their 4-8 overall record and 0-5 Big Ten record would indicate. Four of their five Big Ten losses (Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Penn State) have come by one goal, and they held a lead against No. 6 Iowa in the fourth quarter, after overcoming an early two-goal deficit, less than a week before the loss to Penn State.
The fact that they've finished last in the Big Ten in back-to-back seasons, even after notching an upset victory each year, speaks to the depth of the conference and the fact that anybody can truly beat anybody.
The loss to Penn State is only their second loss to an unranked team, and resume-wise, the fact that Penn State was snubbed from this week's Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll rankings was baffling in and of itself.
For what it's worth, the other unranked team that beat Michigan State, California, ended up being ranked immediately after that game and has been ranked ever since.
It would have certainly qualified as a bad loss had Penn State not managed to pull off the victory, but the fact that they came away victorious is another example of beating the teams they're supposed to beat. It's what good teams do, and it's what every other Big Ten team that's beaten Michigan State has done.
Among Big Ten teams, only No. 1 Northwestern has beaten the Spartans by more than one goal this year, so even a one-goal win illustrates the fact that Penn State belongs squarely among those battling for those seven tournament spots.
But a win is a win regardless, and that's the best possible news for the Nittany Lions this week. After Friday's shutout, Penn State now has the equivalent of a multi-game lead over four other Big Ten teams in the conference standings.
Big Ten postseason outlook as October conference action heats up
At 2-1, they're three games ahead of Michigan State (0-5) with the head-to-head tiebreaker, two and a half games ahead of Ohio State (0-4), and two games ahead of Michigan (1-4).
They're only technically one game ahead of Rutgers (1-2), but they own the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating the Scarlet Knights as well. In the case of a three-way (or more) tie that can't be broken via head-to-head results (like we almost saw a year ago), Penn State currently has five tiebreaker points (three with a regulation win, two with an overtime win) compared to Rutgers' two (one overtime win over Ohio State).
Because of possible tiebreakers, winning three games isn't necessarily guaranteed to lock a team into the Big Ten Tournament (again, we almost saw this a year ago).
But if Penn State can beat Michigan or Ohio State, that would guarantee at least three Big Ten wins for the Nittany Lions and at least five Big Ten losses for the Wolverines or Buckeyes, and owning that head-to-head tiebreaker would be huge.
Both games are scheduled to take place in State College next weekend, with the Ohio State game set to be nationally televised on Big Ten Network beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, October 16, and the Michigan game set to be shown live on B1G+ beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 18.
Looking ahead for Penn State
There are still plenty of areas in which Penn State can improve moving forward. They've scored in the first half in just four of the season's first 11 games, so they've pretty much needed to be a second-half team and rely on a strong defensive effort to keep them in a bunch of their games. And even with a 2-1 Big Ten record, the offense also hasn't been particularly flashy in their three Big Ten games thus far, scoring just two total regulation goals.
But the defense continues to demonstrate a level of improvement under Hannah Prince and the new coaching staff that was always going to be paramount if the Nittany Lions were to make a serious run at November field hockey.
Penn State limited Michigan State to just one total shot in what was a defensive masterclass across the board. Excluding the waved-off non-goal, Deverka never actually faced a true shot on goal, after the Spartans had taken at least five shots in every other Big Ten game they had played this year.
Deverka's goals against average is just 1.28, down from 2.23 in 2025, with her save percentage up from 63.6% to 75%, and the team's total defensive goals against average has dropped from 2.35 to 1.36. Prince's teams during her years at Saint Joseph's were known for their defensive efficiency, and that mentality is clearly taking over in Happy Valley.
Five of Penn State's seven wins this year have been shutouts, including both Big Ten victories.
Before next weekend's crucial Big Ten doubleheader, Penn State is set to travel to Kent State for their final non-conference game of the year this Sunday, October 11. Ohio State has off, while Michigan is set to host Monmouth. Live coverage of this Penn State's Sunday afternoon game in Kent is set to be provided by BoxCast starting at 12:00 p.m. ET.
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