UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Women's Lacrosse team welcomes Rutgers to Panzer Stadium on Saturday for its regular-season finale. The Nittany Lions and the Scarlet Knights are set for an 11 a.m. first draw on Big Ten Network with Mike Monaco, play-by-play, and Greg Bice, color analyst, on the call. The Penn State Men's Lacrosse team will take on Rutgers following the women's game.
Before the game, Penn State will honor six seniors as part of its Senior Day Ceremony. It is also Pink Day, supporting Breast Cancer awareness and research. The first 100 women in attendance will get a free rose.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Missy Doherty, are 7-8 overall after a 16-11 setback against No. 16 Stony Brook on Tuesday. Penn State is 2-3 in conference play and is receiving votes in both the IWLCA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. PSU is ranked 16th in the RPI rankings.
Rutgers, coached by Laura Brand Sias, is 5-10 overall and 0-5 in Big Ten action. The Scarlet Knights fell 11-7 against Ohio State last Saturday.
Follow the action on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewlax).
TICKETS
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.
Tickets are now also available through presale, for all April home games, through Penn State Account Manager, 1-800-NITTANY or visiting the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office in person Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
All presale ticketing will utilize mobile ticketing for entry. For help with mobile ticketing, fans are encouraged to go here.
SENIOR DAY
In their final home game at Penn State, six senior athletes will be recognized for their contributions to the program.
Kayla Brisolari, Kelly Daggett, Katie Garvey, Reilly Masterson, Delaney Muldoon and Alex Rich were part of a class that led PSU to three NCAA Tournament Appearances, including two NCAA Semifinals.
The class led the Nittany Lions to 48 wins. The group has combined for eight Academic All-Big Ten selections, five Big Ten Distinguished Scholar awards, three IWLCA Honor Roll members and an
All-American.
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
This marks the 20th meeting between Penn State and Rutgers and the fifth as Big Ten foes.
The Nittany Lions own a 19-0 advantage in the series, including last year's 18-13 win in Piscataway. Six PSU players scored at least two goals in that game, including hat-tricks by Maria Auth and Quinn Nicolai and two goals each by Madison Carter and Sophia Triandafils.
B1G STAKES
With the Big Ten Tournament next weekend, the Nittany Lions are looking to clinch the fourth and final seed in the tourney.
Following its 16-15 win over No. 21 Johns Hopkins last Thursday, the Nittany Lions hold the tiebreaker over the Blue Jays with each team owning 2-3 marks in conference action.
Penn State can clinch the fourth seed with either a win against Rutgers or a Johns Hopkins loss at Maryland.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
Rutgers, coached by Laura Brand Sias, is 5-11 overall and 0-5 in Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights own wins over LIU Brooklyn, Marist, Delaware, Monmouth and Lafayette.
The Scarlet Knights look to snap a five-game skid after falling 11-7 against Ohio State last Saturday. Taralyn Naslonski led RU with three points, with a goal and two assists. Samantha Budd and Monica Dresnin each had two goals. Kameron Halsall started and made four saves.
Naslonski leads RU with 60 points, including 39 goals. Budd owns 48 points (36 goals) and Marin Hartshorn has 22 goals and eight assists. Naslonski paces the country with 9.53 shots per game and ranks seventh with 6.2 shots on goal per contest. Halsall averages 8.14 saves per game.
BRISOLARI SELECTED IN WPLL DRAFT
An impressive Nittany Lion career led to midfielder Kayla Brisolari being selected 12th overall in the 2019 WPLL Draft by the WPLL Brave, located in Baltimore.
Brisolari joins current volunteer coach Steph Lazo (2017) and Katie O'Donnell (2018), both playing for the Command, as Penn State alums in the WPLL. Director of Operations Katie Haus is a member of the Philadelphia Fire. Nittany Lion alum Michelle DeJuliis (1994-97) is the Founder and CEO of the WPLL.
Brisolari has collected 27 goals, eight assists, 36 ground balls, 62 draw controls and 25 caused turnovers this season. The senior leads PSU in the latter three categories. Brisolari paces the Big Ten with 1.67 caused turnovers per game. She has 12 games with two or more points and nine with two or more goals.
BACK-TO-BACK HAT-TRICKS
A pair of Nittany Lions secured hat-tricks in back-to-back games against Johns Hopkins and Stony Brook.
Sophomore Sophia Triandafils led the Nits with a career high-tying four goals, and two assists, against SBU. She also had three goals at JHU. Fellow sophomore Quinn Nicolai tallied three goals in each contest.
Junior Maria Auth paced PSU with five goals, including three in the second half, at Johns Hopkins. She scored a go-ahead free-position goal with 3:34 remaining in the game.
MARIA'S MONSTER MONTH
Auth has provided a major impact on the PSU offense with 18 goals and seven assists over the last five games, all in April.
The junior began the month with a career-high nine points and six goals against Ohio State. She had two goals vs. Virginia and three goals and two assists at Duquesne before a five-goal day at Johns Hopkins. Auth added two goals and two assists vs. Stony Brook.
Auth leads PSU with 15 goals and 18 points in Big Ten play. For her efforts against OSU and Virginia, Auth was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on April 9.
STEPPING UP IN CONFERENCE PLAY
With one game remaining in their Big Ten schedule, a few Nittany Lions have stepped up in big ways. Auth paces the Nittany Lions with 15 goals and 18 points.
Nicolai has also collected 18 points, with 14 goals, while Brisolari has 10 goals and an assist. Brisolari also leads PSU with 13 ground balls, 17 draw controls and 10 caused turnovers in Big Ten play.
Freshman Taylor Suplee has made 59 saves in five conference games, making 10 or more saves in four contests. She leads the conference in both saves and saves per game (11.8) in conference games.
SPREAD THE WEALTH
The Nittany Lions offense features a balanced attack. Six players have at least 21 points on the season.
Auth and Nicolai are tied with 38 points, while Nicolai leads PSU with 30 goals. Auth has 27 goals and 11 assists. Triandafils owns 20 goals and 17 assists, while Brisolari has registered 27 goals and eight assists. Delaney Muldoon has collected 24 points, including 18 goals, while Madison Carter has 21 points.
STEADY PRESENCE IN GOAL
Freshman goalie Taylor Suplee has emerged as a consistent force at the back of the Penn State defense.
She has posted eight double-digit save totals this year, including a career-high 16 stops against Maryland. Eleven of her 16 saves came in the first half. The Maryland native collected 14 saves, including 10 in the first half, at Michigan and 12 saves against Virginia. She also made 11 stops at Cornell, 11 at Johns Hopkins and 10 at Northwestern.
Suplee was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on March 12 after making 11 saves against James Madison and eight against Albany.
The rookie sits No. 3 in the Big Ten in saves per game (9.27) and total saves (139). She is also No. 4 in save percentage (.463).
NATIONAL AUDIENCE
The Nittany Lions will play their fifth third nationally televised game this year against Rutgers, including its third on BTN.
On March 28, Penn State played at Northwestern on Big Ten Network, PSU's first of three appearances on BTN. The blue and white also played on BTN on April 4 vs. Ohio State.
Penn State hosted Maryland in the first nationally televised game in Panzer Stadium history, on ESPNU, on March 21. The blue and white also faced No. 21 Johns Hopkins in an ESPNews matchup on April 18.
Panzer stadium opened this year with full broadcast capabilities.
FIRST WIN IN PANZER
The Nittany Lions earned a 15-5 win over Lehigh in the first ever regular season game at Panzer Stadium on February 16. 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 first goal in Panzer Stadium history was scored by Kristin Roberto with 26:50 left in the first half.
Senior Delaney Muldoon