UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 12 Penn State Women's Lacrosse team is set to play the first regular season game ever at the new Panzer Stadium on Saturday. The Nittany Lions will face Lehigh for a 1 p.m. contest, live streamed on BTN Plus.
The Nittany Lions, coached by Missy Doherty, began the 2019 season with a 13-7 win over Towson. PSU scored 10 goals in the second half and senior Madison Carter led the team with five points, including four goals.
Lehigh, led by Head Coach Jill Redfern, dropped a 15-5 decision against Liberty. The Mountain Hawks scored all five goals in the second half. Lehigh was 13-6 last season, including 7-2 in Patriot League play.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for youth (ages 12 and under), available for purchase at the Panzer Stadium ticket window. Students get in free by showing their Penn State ID.
Follow the action on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewlax).
PANZER STADIUM
This will be the first ever regular season game played in Panzer Stadium. The state-of-the-art venue was dedicated on September 23, 2018. The facility features a new videoboard, permanent concessions, accessible bathrooms and a ticket office.
The stadium project was made possible through the efforts of Ken Panzer, a 1982 graduate and former co-captain of the men's lacrosse team, and his long-time business partner at Douglas Emmett, Jordan Kaplan. In May 2017, the duo committed a $3.55 million gift to transform the Penn State Lacrosse Field into one of the premier lacrosse stadiums in the country. Additional gifts by Penn State lacrosse alumni and donors totaled $2 million, bringing the total donations to $5.6 million.
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
This marks the 27th meeting in the series, with the Nittany Lions holding a 26-0 record. This will be the first ever regular season game played in Panzer Stadium.
Dating back to 2009, the Nittany Lions have won 31 straight regular season games against in-state opponents.
In last year's matchup, Penn State earned a 14-13 win after holding off a late Mountain Hawks rally. Madison Carter and Katie O'Donnell each scored three times.
CARTER REACHES 200-POINT MARK
Senior Madison Carter scored her second goal of the Towson game with 12:46 left to go. That was her 200th career point. Carter became the 15th Nittany Lion to reach the 200-point mark for her career.
The Maryland native tallied five points against Towson, raising her career total to 202 (184 goals, 18 assists). She is tied with Mackenzie (2011-14) and Madison Cyr (2013-16) for 11th at PSU. Carter is one point behind Michele DeJuliis (1994-97) for 10th in program history.
CARTER RECEIVES NATIONAL HONOR
Following her performance against Towson, Carter was named Brine/US Lacrosse Player of the Week. It was Carter's first career national player of the week honor. Carter earned her 19th career game with at least five points.
10-GOAL SECOND HALF
The Nittany Lions trailed 4-3 going into halftime against Towson but came out on fire in the second half, tallying 10 goals. Penn State began the half on a 6-1 run, pushing to a 9-5 lead with 9:08 left in the game. Carter scored all four of her goals in the second half, including three in the first 21 minutes.
Seven different players scored in the half, including Kayla Brisolari, Lauren Craft, Kelly Daggett, Quinn Nicolai, Kristin Roberto and Sophia Triandafils.
LUCK OF THE DRAW
A big key to the second half turnaround came in the draw circle, where the Nittany Lions won 9 of the last 10 draws. Kristin Roberto earned four draw controls, while Lauren Craft won three and Shannon Moore gained two. For their efforts in draws, Roberto and Moore were named the Doherty Do-Right Players of the Game.
IN THE POLLS
The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 12 in the Preseason IWLCA Poll, announced on January 28. The next IWLCA Poll will come out on February 18. The blue and white remained No. 10 in the Inside Lacrosse Poll, but moved up to No. 11 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Poll. PSU was selected third the Preseason Big Ten Poll behind Maryland and Northwestern.
PRESEASON HONORS
Seniors Kayla Brisolari and Madison Carter were selected as Preseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse. Carter was named First Team while Brisolari was selected third team.
Brisolari and Carter were both named Postseason IWLCA All-Americans in 2018, while Carter added an Inside Lacrosse All-American honor.
Junior Maria Auth, Brisolari and Carter were all named Players to Watch by the Big Ten in 2019.
CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
Penn State is set to face nine opponents ranked in the Preseason IWLCA Poll. The Nittany Lions will battle No. 2 Maryland, No. 4 James Madison, No. 5 Stony Brook, No. 7 Northwestern, No. 8 Princeton, No. 9 Loyola, No. 11 Towson, No. 16 Virginia and No. 23 Johns Hopkins.
Penn State will face six opponents who reached the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Seniors Kayla Brisolari and Kelly Daggett were selected as captains for the 2019 season. Brisolari begins her second season as a captain after serving in 2018.
NATIONAL AUDIENCE
Penn State will be featured on two ESPNU broadcasts this Spring. The Nittany Lions' Big Ten home opener against No. 2 Maryland on March 21 will be shown on the national network. The blue and white will also face No. 23 Johns Hopkins in an ESPNU matchup on April 19.
SHOOT TO SCORE
Penn State matched a program record with 303 goals last season. PSU also had 303 goals in 2017. The Nittany Lions ranked 12th in total goals and 14th in goals per game (15.15) in the nation. PSU also ranked 12th in shots per game (34.05) and 11th in shots on goal per game (25.35). PSU also posted a 45.9 free-position percentage, good for 25th in the country.
Senior Madison Carter ranked 24th in the country and third in the Big Ten with 62 goals. She was also third in the conference with 3.10 goals per game. Carter enters the season ranked fifth all-time at Penn State with 180 career goals. She is 23 away from Katie O'Donnell in fourth.
Junior Kristin Roberto