The game's only goal came at the 60 th-minute mark when Dartmouth (2-3-1, 0-0 Ivy) forward Peyton Tata '11 sent a cross into the box from the right side, and Moschitto tapped the ball in from the six-yard line.
"[Moschitto] showed great composure in the box when she got the ball," co-captain Sarah Bromley '11 said.
Co-captain Katie Davis '11, Erin Fleischli '12 and Aly O'Dea '12 each registered one shot on goal. Big Green goalie Colleen Hogan '12 stopped two Penn State shots in the shutout effort.
Nittany Lion midfielder Christine Nairn led all players with nine shots none of which went on goal. Penn State also dominated the corners count, outnumbering Dartmouth eight to zero.
Before the game, Dartmouth head coach Angie Hind changed the team's formation from a 4-4-2 system to a 4-1-4-1 system, adding a player to the defensive line in an attempt to neutralize a Penn State offense that is filled with all-stars and national team members.
The modification paid off as the Big Green defense shut down a powerful Penn State attack, which had scored five goals in its previous game against Bucknell University. Although the Nittany Lions managed 28 shots in the game, only two were on target.
"Our defense and goalie are all on the same page," Bromley said. "There's great communication and our backline has been solid all season."
Dartmouth's defense has given up only seven goals in six games.
In the early portion of the game, the Big Green mostly bunkered down in its defensive half of the field and looked for opportunities for counter-attacks. Midway through the first half, however, Dartmouth began to string passes together and push the ball forward.
After surviving a few early scares, Dartmouth had its first scoring chance in the 30th minute. O'Dea followed up on a Davis shot, but the ball hit the bottom of the crossbar and stayed out of the net.
Dartmouth kept possession of the ball for long stretches of time after scoring the go-ahead goal. The team built up its offense by connecting simple passes.
"A lot of times when a weaker team goes ahead playing against a stronger opponent, they will drop everyone back on defense," Davis said. "But in our game, we kept our style after the goal and kept the pressure on."
The victory over Penn State accomplished two goals for the Big Green. The team earned valuable points toward its NCAA tournament bid for the end of the season and received a needed confidence boost.
"More importantly, it helped boost our confidence after a tough loss at Quinnipiac," Davis said. "This was a huge win going into our Ivy League season."
Last year, Dartmouth finished third in the Ivy League with a 4-3 conference record. In the off-season, the Big Green lost six graduating seniors, including three All-Ivy First Team members.
"We lost a really strong senior class, and some people were very concerned," Davis said. "But we have eight incoming freshmen and they are going to be big contributors for our team."
Losing great individual senior players has forced this year's team to be more team-oriented.
"We lost great senior players, but the trade-off is we play much more as a team," Bromley said.
Dartmouth's biggest obstacles to the Ivy League title this season are Harvard University, Yale University and Princeton University, according to Bromley. The Crimson is the defending conference champion, while the Bulldogs have also defeated powerhouse Penn State this season.
"Princeton is our biggest rival, we can always get up for them," Bromley said. "We hate Princeton."
Dartmouth will have one more preseason game against the University of New Hampshire on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. in Durham, N.H., before facing off against its first Ivy League opponent Brown University at home on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Big Green will get its chance to face the Tigers on Oct. 2.
