April 22, 2015
| #8 PENN STATE at #1 MARYLAND | |
| 12-3 (4-0 B1G) | 16-0 (4-0 B1G) |
| Thursday, April 23 at 7 p.m. | |
| FH & LACROSSE COMPLEX | COLLEGE PARK | |
| GAME DAY CENTRAL |
Big Ten Network | BTN2Go | Live Stats |
| Follow Us: |
| Women's Lacrosse Blog | 2015 Yearbook |
| @PennStateWLAX | Instagram | Facebook |
TEAM STATISTICS Penn State | Maryland |
PROMOTIONS
Pink Night | Pink Giveaways -->
| INSIDE THE NUMBERS | ||
| PSU | 2015 Stats | UMD |
| 12-3 | Overall Record | 16-0 |
| 4-0 | Conference Record | 4-0 |
| 209 | Goals Scored | 232 |
| 131 | Goals Allowed | 110 |
| 13.93 | Goals Scored/gm. | 14.50 |
| 8.73 | Goals Allowed/gm. | 6.88 |
| 447 | Shots | 525 |
| 29.8 | Shots/gm. | 32.8 |
| 84 | Assists | 93 |
| 36-77 | Free-Position Shots | 46-104 |
| 220 | Ground Balls | 236 |
| 196 | Draw Controls | 245 |
| 172 | Turnovers | 147 |
| 136 | Caused Turnovers | 116 |
| 111 | Saves | 104 |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The No. 8 Nittany Lion women's lacrosse program looks to claim the inaugural Big Ten championship when it meets No. 1 Maryland Thursday night on Big Ten Network. Both teams sport 4-0 Big Ten records with a trophy and the conference tournament's No. 1 seed on the line.
WHAT'S ON THE LINE
A Big Ten Championship.
Penn State enters the game with a 4-0 Big Ten record along with No. 1 Maryland. A win for either squad would clinch the Big Ten title, as well as the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament at Rutgers; the losing team will be the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
Both teams have clinched first-round byes in the tournament. Maryland is going for its first undefeated season since 2001, while Penn State looks to reach the 13-win plateau for the second time in three seasons under Missy Doherty. PSU's last conference title came in 2013, when the Nittany Lions shared the ALC crown with Northwestern and Florida.
LOOKING TO SHOCK THE WORLD
The Nittany Lions will look for their first win over the top-ranked team since March 19, 2005. The 2005 season was special as the Penn State beat two No. 1 teams that year: Virginia (March 11) and Princeton (March 19), before falling to its third No. 1 foe, Northwestern (April 15). PSU rose to No. 2 that year.
LAST TIME OUT: No. 12 Penn State 14, No. 7 Northwestern 10 (April 19)
An explosive first half paved the way for No. 12 Penn State women's lacrosse to take out No. 7 Northwestern, 14-10, on Sunday afternoon at Lakeside Field. The Nittany Lions beat Northwestern for the first time in 12 years behind four Kelly Lechner (Silver Spring, Md.) goals, five Maggie McCormick (Eldersburg, Md.) assists and 10 Emi Smith (Denver, Colo.) saves.
The balanced Penn State (12-3, 4-0 Big Ten) offense had six different goal scorers with five of those tallying at least two markers.
Joining Lechner and McCormick on the score sheet was Steph Lazo (Stevensville, Md.) with her four points on a hat trick and an assist. She became Penn State's 30-goal scorer this season. McCormick has 35 assists this season, while Lechner's season-high four goals gave her with 23 tallies for the year.
LAZO, SMITH NAB BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARDS
Following a pair of away victories, two Penn State players earned Big Ten weekly awards on Monday afternoon. Sophomore attacker Steph Lazo (Stevensville, Md.) and junior goalie Emi Smith (Denver, Colo.) were named Big Ten Offensive and Co-Defensive Players of the Week, respectively.
Lazo, the team's leader in goals with 31, registered a pair of hat tricks and tossed an assist during a seven-point week in wins over Cornell and No. 7 Northwestern. Lazo won her first weekly honor of any kind.
Smith again was vital to Penn State's success, tallying 16 saves in a two-win week. At Cornell, Smith had six saves, four of which came in the first half as Penn State used a 7-0 run to build an 8-5 win. Her 10 saves at Northwestern helped PSU to its first win over the Wildcats in 12 years.
MOVIN' ON UP
The Nittany Lions moved up four places in both major national polls following their 2-0 week. The Nittany Lions check in with season-best rankings of No. 8 in both the IWLCA Coaches Poll and Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. In the NCAA RPI, PSU moved up seven spots to No. 12.
I'M COMING HOME
Fifteen Nittany Lions hail from the Old Line State, returning to Maryland for the second time this season. Earlier this year, PSU knocked off then-No. 17 Loyola, 12-8. Senior midfielder Kelly Lechner of Silver Spring lives closest to College Park.
Penn State Student-Athletes from Maryland: Lauren Bosse (Towson, Md.), Madison Cyr (Westminster, Md.), Madison Day (Bushwood, Md.), Haley Ford (White Hall, Md.), Maggie Gallagher (Bel Air, Md.), Steph and Dani Lazo (Stevensville, Md.), Kelly Lechner (Silver Spring, Md.), Maggie McCormick (Eldersburg, Md.), Jenna Mosketti (Fallston, Md.), Sarah Piazza (Bel Air, Md.), Abby Smucker (Bel Air, Md.), Erika Spilker (Severna Park, Md.), Jane Truffer (Arnold, Md.), Shelby Wells (Timonium, Md.).
MCCORMICK RISES IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Maggie McCormick is the current Penn State record holder for assists (129) and has risen to fourth in all-time points (250). Her point total is the most by a Nittany Lion in a single career since Tami Worley registered 289 in 1986-89. McCormick (121 goals) is 14th all-time at Penn State in scoring.
BALANCED SCORING
The Nittany Lions have received goals from 14 different sources this season with nine different double-digit scorers in all. Steph Lazo (31) leads the bunch followed by Tatum Coffey (28), Madison Cyr (25), Kelly Lechner (23), Maggie McCormick (21), Jenna Mosketti (20), Katie O'Donnell (20), Jess Loizeaux (10), and Abby Smucker (10).
LAZO LEADING THE LIONS
Despite missing two games with injury, Penn State sophomore Steph Lazo is the team's leader in goals with 31.
Lazo had a five-goal game against Lehigh and a hat trick against Bucknell before scoring two vs. Duquesne. She found the back of the net once more against Virginia in February and added another hat trick vs. Loyola on March 7.
Lazo's hat trick against Stanford was her fifth game with three or more goals before she added two more tallied at Rutgers. Lazo notched her sixth game of three or more goals vs. Ohio State and recorded hat tricks at Cornell and at Northwestern, giving her eight games this season with at least three goals.
In all, Lazo has 38 points on the season, good for second on the team. She trails only Maggie McCormick (56, 21-35). Entering 2015, Lazo had only one goal to her name.
ABOUT THE TERRAPINS
The No. 1 Maryland Terrapins (16-0, 4-0 Big Ten) put their 29-game home winning streak on the line Thursday night against Penn State. The Terrapins are coming off a 14-9 home win against Michigan on Saturday. UMD raced out to a 13-4 lead midway through the second half to coast to victory.
The highest scoring team in the Big Ten, Maryland averages 14.50 goals per game, good for eighth in the nation. On defense, the Terps give up 6.88 goals per game, which also leads the conference, while checking in seventh nationally. The key to Maryland's success is winning possession, owning a 245-125 edge in draw controls as well as a 32.8-18.2 shot per game advantage.
Maryland's offense runs through reigning Tewaaraton Award winner Taylor Cummings. She leads the team in points (77), assists (28), draw controls (111), ground balls (33) and caused turnovers (26), while tossing in a second-best 49 goals.
Freshman attacker Megan Whittle is the team's leading scorer with 55 goals, followed by Cummings (49), Brooke Griffin (35), Zoe Stuckenberg (29) and Kelly McPartland (22).
On defense, Megan Douty has 23 ground balls and 17 casued turnovers, while Nadine Hadnagy has scooped 17 grounders and forced 11 turnovers.
In net, fifth-year transfer senior Alex Fitzpatrick has shined in net, posting a 6.43 GAA and .491 save percentage, both marks are best in the Big Ten. Last year, Fitzpatrick earned an All-Patriot League First Team honor at Lehigh.
THE PENN STATE-MARYLAND SERIES
Penn State and Northwestern will meet for the 52nd time on Thursday with the Terrapins holding a 36-14-1 advantage. Maryland is Penn State's most frequent opponent in women's lacrosse as the two teams have played every season since 1973.
All-Time Series: Maryland leads 36-14-1
PSU Streak: 9 losses
First Meeting: 4/14/73, UMD 13-5
Last Meeting: 2/22/14, UMD 14-7
Last PSU Win: 3/25/05, 13-12
Last UMD Win: 2/22/14, 14-7
Largest PSU Win: 13-2 (4/27/76)
Largest UMD Win: 21-4 (4/30/94)
CYR, MCCORMICK NAMED TO TEWAARATON AWARD WATCH LIST
Senior Maggie McCormick and junior Madison Cyr were named as two of 50 women's lacrosse players to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List on Thursday night, Feb. 26. The Tewaaraton Award, presented by Under Armour, honors the best men's and women's collegiate lacrosse player.
This is the fifth straight season the Nittany Lions have had a representative on the preseason watch list. Potential additions to the watch list will be announced March 19 and April 9 before the first cutdown to 25 players on April 23.
THIS IS B1G
Penn State is one of six members in the inaugural season for Big Ten women's lacrosse. The Nittany Lions join storied programs such as Maryland and its 12 NCAA titles and Northwestern with its seven championships. When PSU's two NCAA crowns are factored in, the Big Ten is the winningest conference in women's lacrosse.
Joining PSU, Maryland and Northwestern are Ohio State, Rutgers and Michigan in the Big Ten fold. Each team will play the other five members of the conference once. The 2015 Big Ten Tournament is set for April 30-May 3 at Rutgers with all six teams participating.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State's next game will be in the Big Ten Semifinals on Friday, May 1. The game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. Game times for the semifinals are 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.