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May 7, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's lacrosse team (10-7) will begin its quest for its third NCAA national championship when it faces Princeton (11-6) in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championships at Virginia's Klöckner Stadium Friday, May 9. Opening draw is set for 4 p.m..
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The winner of the Penn State-Princeton first-round matchup will face sixth-seeded Virginia in the second round at Klöckner Stadium Sunday, May 11 at 4 p.m.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the NCAA First and Second Rounds at Virginia are available at VirginiaSports.com, by calling 1-800-542-8821 or in person at the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall. General admission tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for youth and students of the participating schools with a valid student ID.
HOW TO FOLLOW
A free video stream and GameTracker will be available at GoPSUsports.com.
ALL-TIME VS. PRINCETON IN POSTSEASON
Friday will mark the fourth time - and first since 1999 - that Penn State and Princeton will play one another in the postseason. The Nittany Lions, who have a postseason record of 1-2 against the Tigers, lost the first two meetings in 1993 (11-7) and 1996 (13-9). Penn State defeated Princeton in 1999 by a score of 9-7 in overtime.
Junior attacker Maggie McCormick leads all Nittany Lions with 12 career points (5g, 7a) against the Tigers. Senior attacker Mackenzie Cyr is coming off a hat trick against the Tigers and has 11 career points (6g, 5a) against Princeton. Junior midfielder Kelly Lechner boasts eight career points (7g, 1a), while sophomore midfielder Jenna Mosketti has collected five career points (4g, 1a) in two matchups. Both midfielders Tatum Coffey and Madison Cyr have scored three goals.
ALL-TIME IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Nittany Lions will compete in the NCAA tournament for the 20th time. Penn State, which is 16-17 all-time in the NCAA tournament and captured national championships in 1987 and 1989, has earned three straight NCAA tournament berths for the first time since 1995-97.
ALL-TIME AT VIRGINIA
Penn State will travel to Virginia'sKlöckner Stadium for its first round matchup against Princeton. Since the stadium opened in 1992, Penn State has made 13 trips to the facility (4-9 overall). The Nittany Lions' last win came in 2013 when they defeated the Cavaliers, 15-14.
LAST TIME VS. TIGERS
In the 2014 regular-season finale, the Nittany Lions earned a hard-fought 13-12 win over the Tigers. Mackenzie Cyr paced the Nittany Lions in the win, registering six points (3g, 3a). Midfielder Jenna Mosketti contributed four goals, while juniors Kelly Lechner (2g, 1a) and Maggie McCormick (3a) both had three points. Sophomore Madison Cyr and junior Jess Loizeaux finished their days with two goals each.
Final Stats (PSU-PRIN): Shots (25-24), Saves (7-7), Ground Balls (13-10), Draw Controls (11-16), Turnovers (8-11), Caused Turnovers (11-6).
SCOUTING PRINCETON
The Tigers, who earned the Ivy League's regular-season championship, will enter the NCAA tournament after falling to Penn in the Ivy League Tournament championship game. Princeton is 34-21 in NCAA play all-time and 16-3 in the first round. Last season the Tigers fell to Duke, 10-9, in double overtime.
Junior Erin McMunn paces the Tigers with 52 points this season. Her 40 goals and 65 shots are both team-highs. McMunn was one of five Tigers named to the First-Team All-Ivy this season. Senior Sarah Lloyd was named the Ivy League's Midfielder of the year after netting 25 goals this season and assisting on five others. Lloyd led the Tigers with 24 ground balls and 33 draw controls. Her 25 goals were second on the roster behind McMunn's 40.
COACHING CONNECTION
As an assistant coach for Princeton, Missy Doherty helped the Tigers to two national championships in 2002 and 2003. During her tenure, Princeton won three straight Ivy League Championships and compiled a 49-9 record.
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State fell to Johns Hopkins, 13-10, in the first round of the ALC tournament. After facing a 9-3 halftime deficit, the Nittany Lions out-scored Johns Hopkins (15-3) by a 7-4 margin in the final 30 minutes, twice making it a three-goal game.
Juniors Tatum Coffey and Maggie McCormick led the charge for the Nittany Lions netting three goals each in the setback. Midfielders Kelly Lechner, Jenna Mosketti, Abby Smucker and Kristen Brent all registered one goal in the game.
Final Stats (PSU-JHU): Shots (30-27), Saves (10-9), Ground Balls (18-11), Draw Controls (11-14), Turnovers (11-14), Caused Turnovers (8-7).
PURVIS NAMED ALC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
After leading the American Lacrosse Conference with 1.81 caused turnovers per game during the regular season, senior defender Lauren Purvis was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year. The Maple Glen, Pennsylvania, native became the Nittany Lions' fourth major award winner and first since Dana Cahill secured her second straight goalkeeper of the year honor in 2012.
QUARTET NAMED ALL-ALC
Senior defender Lauren Purvis and sophomore midfielder Madison Cyr were named to the All-ALC First Team, while junior attacker Maggie McCormick and sophomore midfielder Jenna Mosketti earned second-team honors. Both Purvis and Cyr garnered all-conference honors for the first time, while McCormick and Mosketti found their names on All-ALC teams for the third and second times, respectively.
Since 2002, 56 Nittany Lions, including 18 under head coach Missy Doherty, have earned all-conference recognition.
MILESTONE WATCH
Senior attacker Mackenzie Cyr will enter Friday boasting career totals of 94 goals, 105 assists and 199 points. The Westminster, Maryland, native ranks third all-time in program history in assists (behind Julie Tice (115) and Marsha Florio (109)) and needs one point to become the 10th Nittany Lion to record 200 in her career. Junior attacker Maggie McCormick needs two goals to reach the century mark for her career.
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Midfielder Madison Cyr extended her points streak to 14 games after assisting on a goal against Johns Hopkins May 1. The sophomore has posted a team-high 46 points (39g, 7a) and leads the Nittany Lions in goals (39) and shots (75) and ranks second in caused turnovers (19).
HIGH POWERED OFFENSE
Penn State boasts the nation's 18th-ranked scoring offense with 13.06 goals per game and will face a Tiger defense that allows 9.12 goals per contest.