Feb. 20, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Ten different Nittany Lions recorded at least one point as the No. 9/10 Penn State women's lacrosse team routed Bucknell, 18-2, in its season opener at Holuba Hall Wednesday night.
Junior Mackenzie Cyr (Westminster, Md.), who added three assists for a game-high seven points, tied a career-high with four goals and, in the process, extended her point-scoring streak to eight games dating back to last season.
Several Nittany Lions starred in their collegiate debuts, including attacker Madison Cyr (Westminster, Md.) and midfielders Ally Heavens (Garnet Valley, Pa.) and Jenna Mosketti (Fallston, Md.). Mosketti netted three goals, while Cyr added two points (1g, 1a) and Heavens connected on a free-position shot.
Sophomores Tatum Coffey (Toms River, N.J./1g, 1a) and Maggie McCormick (Eldersburg, Md./2g, 3a) notched multi-point games for Penn State (1-0), while senior Molly Fernandez (Baltimore, Md.) and redshirt sophomore Avery Curley (Berwyn, Pa.) added a pair of goals each. Junior midfielder Shannon Lechner (Silver Spring, Md.) and sophomore midfielder Haley Ford (White Hall, Md.) also scored.
Freshman goalkeeper Emi Smith (Denver, Colo.) pitched a first-half shutout with five saves before senior Ayla Halus (Hershey, Pa.) stopped two second-half attempts.
The Nittany Lions scored the game's first 13 goals before a pair of markers from Emily Kookogey and Madison Hurwitz made it 13-2 in the second stanza. Bison (0-2) goalkeeper Caroline O'Neill started the game and allowed 16 goals before Charlotte O'Donnell ceded two scores.
Senior defender Katie Guy (Whitby, Ont.) led Penn State with seven ground balls and five caused turnovers as the Nittany Lions won those battles by 18-10 and 15-5 margins, respectively. Penn State also collected 16-of-22 draw controls and connected on 3-of-8 free-position shots.
In the first half, Mackenzie Cyr gave the Lions a 3-0 lead with three quick strikes in the first 6:40 of the game. Penn State took a 7-0 advantage when a pair of goals from McCormick surrounded tallies from Heavens and Mosketti.
After McCormick's second marker with 16:53 left in the half, Madison Cyr scored off a feed from her sister, Mackenzie, before Coffey made it 9-0 with 12:48 left in the frame.
The Nittany Lions opened the second half on a 4-0 run to extend their lead to 13-0. Fernandez tallied a free-position marker 54 seconds into the frame before Ford, Mosketti and Lechner each tallied in a 2:22 span.
After Bucknell responded with a pair of goals in a 2:04 span, the Nittany Lions continued their offensive attack with five more markers. With 14:14 left in the game, Curley extended the Penn State lead to 14-2 before Fernandez connected on her second free-position shot of the evening.
Mackenzie Cyr added her fourth of the contest with 5:05 left, while Mosketti and Curley rounded out the scoring in the final two minutes to account for the 18-2 final.
The Nittany Lions will return to action Saturday, Feb. 23 when they travel to No. 6/10 Loyola. Game time is set at 11 a.m.