March 9, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 14 Penn State women's lacrosse team (3-2) will open a three-game road swing this weekend when it travels regionally for a 12 p.m. non-conference tilt with Delaware (1-3) on Sat., March 13. The game will be played at the home of the Blue Hens, Rullo Stadium, in Newark, Del.
Last weekend, the Nittany Lions surrendered eight unanswered goals to start their contest with No. 9 Virginia leading to a 13-8 defeat, their fourth consecutive to the Cavaliers. Four different Nittany Lions, two-time ALC Freshman of the Week Molly Fernandez (Baltimore, Md.), junior Laura Lesnick (Jarrettsville, Md.), junior Jen Steadman (Sykesville, Md.), and sophomore Elaine Welch (Bernardsville, N.J.), each scored two goals while seniors Theresa Bucci (Hudson, Ohio) and Maria Valderas (Catonsville, Md.) notched assists.
Delaware is coming off a 15-9 setback to No. 17 Loyola, the team Penn State beat in its season opener on Feb. 14, on Wednesday in Baltimore. The game was tied on seven occasions but the Greyhounds netted five straight unanswered goals to secure the victory. The Blue Hens have also suffered a pair of 12-11 losses, falling to Lehigh and Rutgers, with their lone win coming against St. Joseph's (12-6). Junior attacker Corinne Drost tops UD with 12 points, sharing the team lead in goals (8) with Ali Libertini and assists (4) with Emily Schaknowski. Junior goalkeeper Makenzie Worthington has started all four games in 2010, possessing a 11.25 goals against average and has compiled a .375 save percentage.
Penn State has 22 wins in its series with Delaware, tied with William & Mary for the most in program history against any single opponent. However, the Nittany Lions last visit to Delaware, in 2008, resulted in a 13-4 defeat, one of just seven losses to the Blue Hens all-time in 29 total meetings. Under Suzanne Isidor, Penn State is 5-3 versus Delaware.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Delaware match-up with live stats and instant scoring updates. Find a link on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
The Nittany Lions will begin conference play next weekend when they visit Nashville, Tenn. for a 2 p.m. ET match-up with ALC rival No. 19 Vanderbilt (2-3) on Sun., March 21. Penn State owns a 6-6 record in program history versus the Commodores, losing three consecutive games. The Lions last victory in the series came on the road, a 9-8 triumph in 2006.