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BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The No. 6 Penn State women's lacrosse team opened the 2016 season with a dominant 13-6 victory over Lehigh. Junior Steph Lazo (Stevensville, Md.) and senior Jenna Mosketti (Fallston, Md.) each scored four goals to lead all scorers.
"It was a good start to the season," head coach Missy Doherty said. "We have a lot of things to work on, but we are happy to have our first win."
Penn State (1-0) opened the game with a 5-0 run in the opening 21 minutes of action and never looked back. Five different Nittany Lions scored during that stretch.
The second half started with another 5-0 Nittany Lions run, where in Lazo dominated. She scored in the first minute of the half to start the streak then scored two more goals in a 13-second. Mosketti and sophomore Katie O'Donnell (West Chester, Pa.) each scored once during the run. O'Donnell finished with two goals from the free-position.
Penn State's 7-3 lead grew to 12-3 with 16:11 remaining as Mosketti put away a Madison Cyr (Westminster, Md.) feed. Cyr dished out three assists before scoring a goal of her own to cap a four-point afternoon.
Emi Smith (Denver, Colo.) excelled in net making nine saves on 15 shots faced. Smith was vital during the second half by stopping six Lehigh shots on target.
Abby Smucker (Bel Air, Md.) turned in an excellent all-around performance with two points (1G, 1A), three ground balls, and a team-leading three caused turnovers.
Freshman Madison Carter (Davidsonville, Md.) shined in her Penn State debut, scoring a goal and scooping three draw controls. She also caused one turnover. Maggie Gallagher (Bel Air, Md.) dished an assist to round out Penn State's seven-player point scoring core.
Penn State's defensive effort was critical to the offensive production, converting on 13 of 16 clears. The Nittany Lions out-shot Lehigh 32-22, while also holding edges in ground balls (19-16) and draw controls (14-6).
Penn State improved to 24-0 all-time against Lehigh by beating the Mountain Hawks for the second consecutive opening day.
The Nittany Lions returns to action Saturday, Feb. 20, when it hosts Duquesne for their home opener. Opening draw is set for 3 p.m.