April 13, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 13-ranked Penn State women's lacrosse team will play its road regular season finale on Sunday when it travels to Columbus to face No. 10 Ohio State (9-3, 1-2) in a pivotal ALC contest. Scheduled for a 12 p.m. start at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, the game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
On Wednesday, Penn State (9-4, 1-2) halted a two-game losing streak and upped its 2012 road record to 6-1, routing Lehigh, 15-3, in Bethlehem. Senior Theresa Zichelli (Severna Park, Md.) headlined a balanced offensive performance which saw 10 different Nittany Lions score goals, totaling five points on three goals and two assists. Senior Elaine Welch (Bernardsville, N.J.), junior Molly Fernandez (Baltimore, Md.), and sophomore Mackenzie Cyr (Westminster, Md.) also added two goals each. Senior goalkeeper Dana Cahill (Towson, Md.) anchored a stellar effort by the Nittany Lion defense, recording 11 saves in 52-plus minutes of playing time.
Ohio State, which is coming off an important 13-11 road win over Vanderbilt last weekend, will be home for the first time in three weeks when it hosts Penn State on Sunday. The Buckeyes feature one of the nation's most explosive offenses, averaging 14.17 goals and seven assists per game. Senior Alayna Markwordt, who owns the program records for goals and points, is fourth in the nation in total scoring with 69 points (32 goals, 37 assists). Jackie Cifarelli (24 goals, 21 assists), Gabby Capuzzi (30 goals, 8 assists), and Kristen Donahue (28 goals, 3 assists) are also key weapons for the OSU attack. Capuzzi also leads the team in draw controls (43), ground balls (30), and caused turnovers (26). Goalkeeper Tori DeScenza has excelled in her freshman campaign, compiling a 9.04 goals against average and a .500 save percentage
Penn State leads the all-time series with Ohio State, 15-4. The Nittany Lions have taken six straight from the Buckeyes, including the last three regular season match-ups. In 2011, Penn State scored a game-winning goal 45 seconds into double overtime to complete a thrilling come-from-behind 11-10 sudden victory win over Ohio State in Happy Valley.
Fans can also track all of the action of the Penn State-Ohio State match with live stats from GameTracker or receive game updates by following the official Twitter account of the Penn State women's lacrosse team, @GoPSUWLax. Find links on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
The Nittany Lions will begin a two-game home stand to finish out the regular season on Saturday, April 21 when it welcomes ALC foe No. 19 Johns Hopkins (7-5, 0-2) to Penn State Lacrosse Field for a 1 p.m. game. The Blue Jays have dropped three straight and travel to No. 1 Northwestern on Sunday. A year ago, Penn State knocked off Johns Hopkins twice, claiming a 10-7 regular season win and a 17-11 victory in the first round of the ALC Championship.