UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The ninth-ranked Nittany Lion women's lacrosse team faces its second ranked opponent in as many games when it visits Baltimore on Saturday to play No. 17 Loyola Maryland. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: Virginia 16, Penn State 15 (Feb. 28)The ninth-ranked Penn State women's lacrosse team went toe-to-toe with No. 8 Virginia, but a goal with four seconds left in the game by UVa's Casey Bocklet handed the Nittany Lions a 16-15 loss on Saturday at Holuba Hall.
Junior Madison Cyr (Westminster, Md.) scored a game-high five goals for Penn State (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten). Katie O'Donnell's (West Chester, Pa.) goal with 2:26 remaining in the game forced a 15-15 deadlock before Bocklet tallied the game-winner.
Senior Maggie McCormick (Eldersburg, Md.) dished five assists for the Nittany Lions who were looking for their first 4-0 start in six seasons. Virginia's Courtney Swan was a difference maker with eight points on four goals and four assists, while collecting a game-high nine draw con Missy Doherty trols.
Penn State and Virginia (2-2, 1-0 ACC) were never separated by more than two goals and the score was tied on 10 different occasions.
Steph Lazo (Stevensville, Md.) continued her strong start to the season, scoring her 11th goal of the year. Abby Smucker (Bel Air, Md.) netted a hat trick while midfielders Tatum Coffey (Toms River, N.J.) and Kelly Lechner (Silver Spring, Md.) each added two goals.
MCCORMICK EARNS BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORPenn State senior Maggie McCormick was named Big Ten offensive player of the week on Monday after two straight strong performances against Duquesne and Virginia, in which she dished out eight assists and scored four goals. McCormick leads Penn State in assists (11) and points (16) this season.
LAZO LEADING THE LIONSPenn State sophomore Steph Lazo is the team's leader in goals early on with 11. She 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 last week. In all, Lazo has 12 points on the season, second to Maggie McCormick (16, 5-11). Entering 2015, she had only one goal to her name.
BALANCED SCORINGThe Nittany Lions have received goals from 13 different sources this season with 11 providing multiple goals. Joining Lazo in the multi-goal category is Kelly Lechner (8), Madison Cyr (8), Abby Smucker (7), Tatum Coffey (6), Maggie McCormick (5), Jenna Mosketti (5), Jess Loizeaux (4), Katie O'Donnell (3), and Maggie Gallagher (2).
CYR, MCCORMICK NAMED TO TEWAARATON AWARD WATCH LISTSenior Maggie McCormick (Eldersburg, Md.) and junior Madison Cyr (Westminster, Md.) 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.
ABOUT THE GREYHOUNDSLoyola (1-3, 0-0 Patriot League) plays its fifth straight ranked opponent to start the season following a tough 11-8 loss at No. 4 Florida on Tuesday. Loyola dropped a 10-8 decision at Princeton to open the season before defeating in-state rival Johns Hopkins, 12-10, in an overtime thriller on Feb. 25.
The Greyhounds are scoring 9.5 goals per game, while allowing 10.5 goals. Loyola has drawn 14 free-position shots, scoring on nine (.357). Loyola takes care of the ball, turning the ball over 29 times to their opponents' 44.
Offensively, seniors Hannah Schmitt and Kara Burke lead Loyola. Schmitt has 11 goals on the year and Burke has added eight, totaling half the Greyhounds' goals this season. Annie Thomas leads Loyola with seven assists; Schmitt and Katrina Geiger each have three. In net, Baltimore native Molly Wolf as tallied 28 saves (.400) in four games while allowing 42 goals on 111 shots faced.
THE PENN STATE-LOYOLA SERIESThe Nittany Lions and Greyhounds have met every season since 2010. Penn State is 2-3 in that stretch, though the all-time series is split at 14 wins apiece.
All-Time Series : Tied 14-14PSU Streak: 1 winFirst Meeting: 3/25/86, PSU 9-4Last Meeting: 3/8/14, PSU 18-11Last PSU Win: 3/8/14, 18-11Last UVA Win: 2/23/13, 13-11Largest PSU Win: 20-7, 3/31/07Largest LOY Win: 16-8, 3/12/97
THIS IS B1GPenn 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 Penn State, 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 OUTThe Nittany Lions return to Happy Valley for a two-game home stand, starting with No. 19 James Madison on Wednesday, March 11 (4 p.m.), before they take on Vanderbilt on Sunday, March 15 (Noon).