May 16, 2013
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 7 Penn State women's lacrosse team will look to punch a ticket to its first NCAA semifinal since 1999 when the Nittany Lions travel to No. 2 Northwestern Saturday, May 18 for an 8 p.m. clash. The NCAA quarterfinal matchup from Lakeside Field will air live on the Big Ten Network.
Penn State (14-6) advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals after defeating Canisius (14-13) and Massachusetts (12-9) in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament at the Penn State Lacrosse Field last weekend. The Nittany Lions, who are looking for their first 15-win season since 1999, secured a quarterfinal berth for the second straight season under head coach Missy Doherty.
The nation's 14th-ranked offense will be put to the test against a stringent Wildcat defense that allows fewer than eight goals per game. Sophomore attacker Maggie McCormick (Eldersburg, Md.) continues to lead the charge for Penn State with a team-leading 49 goals, 35 assists and 84 points, while classmate Kelly Lechner (Silver Spring, Md.), who ranks second on the team with 46 goals, netted a team-high four markers in two games against the Wildcats in 2013.
In addition to the Nittany Lions' 40-goal scorers, junior attacker Mackenzie Cyr (Westminster, Md.), who ranks second on the team with a career-high 66 points (32g, 34a), has been one of the team's most dynamic playmakers. The Westminster, Md., native has collected two straight six-point games while notching a career-high 34 assists in 2013 to put her in fifth place on Penn State's all-time list.
Senior defender Katie Guy (Whitby, Ont.), who earned IWLCA All-America honors with Lechner and McCormick, leads a Nittany Lion defense that allowed one second-half goal to Northwestern in their last meeting. A Whitby, Ont., native, Guy leads Penn State with career highs in both ground balls (45) and caused turnovers (39), while redshirt senior defender Colleen Shea (Baltimore, Md.) has added a career-high 20 caused turnovers and 14 ground balls.
The Wildcats (18-2) will enter the quarterfinal matchup riding an 18-game NCAA tournament home winning streak under head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. Northwestern, which defeated Stanford in the NCAA second round, boasts the nation's seventh-ranked scoring defense (7.95) and 19th-ranked scoring offense (12.60). Senior Erin Fitzgerald paces the squad in goals (56) and points (62), while junior midfielder Alyssa Leonard ranks fifth in the NCAA in draw controls per game (6.0). In the cage, sophomore Bridget Bianco ranks sixth in the nation with a 7.60 goals-against average.
Saturday night's matchup will mark a series-high third meeting of the season between the schools. Although Penn State fell in both of its previous games, the Nittany Lions forced overtime in a 9-8 setback in the ALC semifinals May 3. In addition to Lechner's team-leading four goals against Northwestern, sophomore Tatum Coffey (Toms River, N.J.) and freshman Jenna Mosketti (Fallston, Md.) added two strikes each in the season series.
If the Nittany Lions advance, they will face the winner of the North Carolina-Virginia matchup in the NCAA semifinals May 24 in Villanova, Pa. Penn State and Northwestern are meeting in the NCAA tournament for the first time since a 12-6 Nittany Lion victory in 1988.