Feb. 24, 2017
ITHACA, N.Y. - The sixth ranked Penn State women's lacrosse team continues its three-game road trip as they travel to Ithaca, N.Y. to battle the 14th-ranked Cornell Big Red on Saturday at 1 p.m.
THE MATCH-UP
- In the oldest match-up of its kind Penn State and Cornell first met on April 27, 1968 and after playing consistently through the early 70's the two teams didn't meet again until 2001. They then took another hiatus, but have met each of the last four seasons since 2013.
- Penn State holds the 8-3 all-time advantage; however, the teams are 2-2 in the current era since 2013.
- Cornell defeated the Nittany Lions 10-7 last April in Happy Valley. Joey Coffy scored four times for the Big Red while Taylor Reed added a pair. Penn State was led by Madison Cyr with three goals while Steph Lazo tallied two.
HOW TO WATCH
- The game will be available for purchase through the IVY League Network.
MOVIN' ON UP
- Penn State entered the season ranked No. 7 in the IWLCA preseason coaches' poll and following a 3-0 start to the season the Nittany Lions have climbed to No. 6 in the first IWLCA regular season poll released on Monday.
STARTING FAST
- The Nittany Lions have raced out to commanding leads early in each game as they have grabbed 7-1, 7-0, 8-1 and 7-2 advantages midway through the first half in all three games leading to a 35-16 scoring edge in the first half so far this season.
HIGH-FIVE
- Penn State is currently 4-0 for the first time since 2009 and is looking to go 5-0 for the first time since 1993 with a win over the Big Red.
FRESHMAN STEPPING UP
- Freshman Kristin Roberto has tallied a goal in each of the last three games and Maria Auth registered her first career hat trick and had a four point afternoon last time out against Duquesne.
- Yasmain Hamood and Katie Schluederberg also collected their first career point against the Dukes with one assist each.
THE NATION'S BEST
- After a seven-point performance in a win over Duquesne on Wednesday, senior Steph Lazo is currently tied for the national lead in points with 29 and assists with 12 while her 17 goal rank her tied for third in the nation.
- Lazo is also just one assist shy of tying for 15th on the all-time list with 59 for her career.
ANYTHING YOU CAN DO I CAN DO BETTER
- So far this season Lazo and sophomore Madison Carter have been trading goals and flip-flopping between first and second not only on the team, but in the Big Ten. Carter is currently one better than Lazo as her 18 goals is good for tops in the league and tied for second in the nation.
- Carter's 21 points is also good for second in the Big Ten behind Lazo and tied for fifth in the country.
OFFENSIVE DOMINANCE
- Penn State has dominated on offense early in the season scoring double-digit goals in each contest and are leading the Big Ten averaging 17.5 goals per game. This is also good for seventh in the country.
DRAWING A PICTURE FOR SUCCESS
- Penn State is tied for third in the nation in draw controls per game as they are averaging 19 to lead the Big Ten. This is leading to more time on offense and has contributed to the early 4-0 start.
- Madison Carter is first in the Big Ten and tenth in the nation averaging 7.33 draw per game including a career-high 10 in the season opener against Albany.
SCOUTING CORNELL
- Cornell enters the week ranked No. 14 in the latest IWLCA Coaches Poll.
- The Big Red lost two of their top five scorers from last season's team including Olivia Mattyasovszky who paced Cornell with 33 goals and 36 points.
- Cornell is led so far this season by Kristy Gilbert who scored six goals in their season opening 18-6 win at Villanova.
- The Big red finished last season 14-5 advancing all the way to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling 7-6 to UMass.
- Cornell returns their senior goalkeeper in Renee Poullott who secured a 14-5 record last season with a 7.36 goals against average and a .465 save percentage. She earned Second-Team All-IVY League honors last season as well as a Second-Team IWLCA Regional All-American nod.
NEXT UP
- Penn State concludes their three-game road swing as they travel to Loyola for a 3 p.m. affair next Saturday.