April 10, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Seven Nittany Lions recorded multi-point games as the seventh-ranked Penn State women's lacrosse team improved to 5-0 at home for the first time since 1991 with a 16-3 victory against Lehigh Wednesday evening.
With storms entering the State College area, the first 29:10 of the game was played outdoors at the Penn State Lacrosse Field before lightning forced the teams indoors to Holuba Hall. The teams finished the match in dry conditions as Penn State improved to 8-4 with its 22nd straight victory against the Mountain Hawks (3-11).
Sophomore attacker Maggie McCormick (Eldersburg, Md.) tallied a game-high four points (2g, 2a), while classmate Kristin Brent (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) and freshman midfielder Erika Spilker (Severna Park, Md.) netted their first career goals.
Junior Mackenzie Cyr (Westminster, Md.), sophomore Kelly Lechner (Silver Spring, Md.) and freshmen Ally Heavens (Garnet Valley, Pa.) and Madison Cyr (Westminster, Md.), who noted a game-high four draw controls, added a pair of goals each. Sophomore midfielder Tatum Coffey (Toms River, N.J.) contributed a two-point game (1g, 1a).
On the defensive end, sophomore defender Erin McAfee (Moorestown, N.J.) shined with a career-high three caused turnovers, while senior defender Katie Guy (Whitby, Ont.), who corralled a game-high four ground balls, and junior midfielder Evan Foulsham (Madison, N.J.) added two caused turnovers each.
Freshman Emi Smith (Denver, Colo.), who allowed only one marker, corralled four Mountain Hawk attempts before redshirt senior Ayla Halus (Hershey, Pa.) made two stops in the final 21:16.
Penn State outshot Lehigh by a 31-12 margin and bettered the Mountain Hawks in ground balls (17-13) and draw controls (13-8). The Nittany Lions finished 16-for-18 on clears, while Lehigh was 11-for-13.
Beginning with Mackenzie Cyr's marker 1:10 after the opening draw, Penn State charged out of the gate with four straight goals. Lechner gave the Nittany Lions a 2-0 advantage 58 seconds after Cyr's strike before Heavens and Fernandez tallied at 3:30 and 7:58, respectively, as Penn State grabbed a 4-0 lead.
Kendall Garden brought the Mountain Hawks to within three goals, but the Nittany Lions utilized a 10-0 run that spanned both halves en route to a 14-1 lead. Cyr netted her second of the game before McCormick's pair gave the Nittany Lions a 7-1 advantage. Coffey closed out the half with her 19th marker of the season with 7:13 left in the stanza.
Early in the final frame, Madison Cyr scored twice, including once on a free-position shot, in an 11-second span to push the advantage to nine. With 26:24 left, Lechner gave Penn State an 11-1 lead before redshirt sophomore Avery Curley (Berwyn, Pa.), Heavens and Mosketti tallied within a 4:59 span.
After taking a 14-1 lead following Mosketti's 17th strike of the year, Lehigh responded with a pair of goals. Nicole Isdander scored with 15:42 remaining before Julie Tatios netted a free-position shot at 21:26.
With 6:42 left in the game, Brent fired her first career goal to the back of the net before Spilker added a free-position shot with 1:45 remaining to account for the 16-3 final.
The Nittany Lions will return to action Sunday, April 14 when they welcome conference rival Ohio State to the Penn State Lacrosse Field. The Senior Day matchup is set at 1:05 p.m., while the Big Ten Network will air the game on a tape delay at 6:30 p.m.