Feb. 18, 2012
GameTracker
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 17 Penn State women's lacrosse team will begin its 2012 home schedule on Sunday afternoon when it hosts ACC power No. 2 Maryland (2-0) at 1 p.m. The clash of ranked opponents will be the program's inaugural game at the new home of the Nittany Lions, Penn State Lacrosse Field.
Fans attending Sunday's games should park in the lot east of the Multi-Sport Facility and the Bryce Jordan Center (Lot 44). Penn State Lacrosse Field is just a short walk from the lot. Admission for all home Penn State women's lacrosse games is free.
Earlier this week, on Wednesday, Penn State opened the 2012 season with a dominating 19-3 road victory over Bucknell. Thirteen Nittany Lions, including six newcomers, tallied at least one point, 11 scored a goal, and all 26 available players saw action, as PSU moved to 16-0 all-time versus the Bison. Junior Katie Guy (Whitby, Ont.) and freshman Kelly Lechner (Silver Spring, Md.) netted hat tricks while junior Molly Fernandez (Baltimore, Md.) and sophomore Mackenzie Cyr (Westminster, Md.) totaled two goals and one assist each. Freshmen Tatum Coffey (Toms River, N.J.) (6 draw controls, 3 caused turnovers, 3 ground balls, 2 goals) and Maggie McCormick (Eldersburg, Md.) (2 assists) contributed strong performances in their collegiate debuts.
Senior goalkeeper Dana Cahill (Towson, Md.), who was named to the 2012 Tewaaraton Award Watch on the same day, played the entire first half and part of the second in net, making four saves.
Early on this season, Maryland has picked up where it left off last year, when it finished as the NCAA runner-up. The Terrapins are 2-0, claiming dominating wins over William & Mary (19-8) and Delaware (21-4) on the strength of their high-powered offense. Redshirt freshman Brook Griffin, who was sidelined for the entire 2011 season with a knee injury, leads the team in goals (9) and points (10). Senior Karri Ellen Johnson, who missed 12 games last year with concussion symptoms, has already moved into third place on Maryland's all-time scoring list this year, netting six goals to give her 188 for her career. Junior Katie Schwarzmann, the 2011 IWLCA National Midfielder of the Year, also has six goals.
Junior Iliana Sanza and four-year starting goalkeeper Brittany Dipper, the 2011 IWLCA National Goalkeeper of the Year, headline the Terrapin defense.
Penn State possesses a 14-33-1 all-time record versus Maryland, losing five straight to the Terrapins. Last season in College Park, the Nittany Lions dropped a 13-2 decision in their 2011 season opener. Penn State's last win in the series came in 2005, when it claimed a 13-12 victory at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Maryland match-up with live stats and instant scoring updates from GameTracker. Find a link on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State will finish out an early-season two-game home stand on Wednesday, Feb. 22 when it hosts in-state foe Duquesne for the first time in program history. The 7 p.m. contest will be held indoors in Holuba Hall. Next weekend, the Nittany Lions will travel to face Lafayette in a 1 p.m. non-conference game on Saturday, Feb. 25. A year ago, Penn State knocked off the Leopards, 17-9, in University Park.