April 4, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 12 Penn State women's lacrosse team will face its second consecutive top five ranked opponent on Friday night when it hosts defending national champion No. 1 Northwestern (10-0, 2-0). The pivotal ALC clash, which is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start, will be the program's first ever night game at its new home, Penn State Lacrosse Field.
Playing without leading scorer sophomore Mackenzie Cyr (Westminster, Md.) and hampered by yellow card disqualifications to two key defenders, Penn State (8-3, 1-1) dropped its first road game of the season last weekend, falling to No. 4 Florida, 20-11, in Gainesville. Senior Theresa Zichelli (Severna Park, Md.) headlined a balanced offensive effort, notching her second hat trick of the season. In all, eight different Nittany Lions found net. Junior Molly Fernandez (Baltimore, Md.), who netted two, was Penn State's only other multiple goal scorer.
Heading into the final stretch of the regular season, Penn State continues to get offensive production from a variety of sources. The Nittany Lions have three different leaders in the three major statistical categories. Cyr tops the team in points (35) while freshmen Tatum Coffey (Toms River, N.J.) and Maggie McCormick (Eldersburg, Md.) rank first in goals (26) and assists (18), respectively. Fernandez is also a key weapon, netting 21 goals.
Senior goalkeeper Dana Cahill (Towson, Md.) is having a solid season as the defensive anchor, ranking No. 7 in the nation in saves (105) and 10th in save percentage (.502).
Northwestern has picked up in 2012 where it left off in 2011, when it captured the program's sixth national title in the last seven years. The Wildcats have reeled off ten straight wins since the season's outset, including a 13-12 overtime win over conference foe Ohio State last weekend at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. The Northwestern offense, ranked No. 4 in the nation, is headlined by 2011 Tewaaraton Trophy winner Shannon Smith. The senior attacker leads the team in goals (35) and points (46) and ranks second in assists (11). Junior Erin Fitzgerald (26) and sophomore Katie Mupo (20) have also reached the 20-goal plateau. Anchoring the nation's No. 3-ranked defense, is senior goalkeeper Brianne LoManto, who tops the NCAA with a 6.33 goals against average.
Penn State possesses a 4-14 all-time record versus Northwestern, dropping 13 straight in the series, including eight consecutive regular season match-ups. The Nittany Lions last defeated the Wildcats in Happy Valley in 2002 (13-10).
Fans can track all of the action of the Penn State-Northwestern match-up 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.
Penn State will play its final non-conference road game of the season on Wednesday, April 11 when it travels to eastern Pennsylvania to face Lehigh (6-6). Opening draw is set for 7 p.m. at the Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem. A year ago, the Nittany Lions edged the Mountain Hawks, 12-11, at Jeffrey Field, maintaining their unblemished all-time series record (20-0).