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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The No. 9 Nittany Lion women's lacrosse team never trailed in a 15-11 victory over Vanderbilt Saturday afternoon at VU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex. Four Nittany Lions registered hat tricks and Emi Smith (Denver, Colo.) made 10 saves to keep the Commodores at bay.
"It's been a hard-fought Spring Break," said head coach Missy Doherty. "And we're excited to play at home on Wednesday against Princeton."
The Penn State (6-1) offense peppered the Vanderbilt (4-3) net, putting 32 shots on goal and connecting on 15. PSU's scoring was led by Madison Carter (Davidsonville, Md.) who had four goals, while Madison Cyr (Westminster, Md.), Katie O'Donnell (West Chester, Pa.) and Kelly Daggett (Bainbridge, Pa.) all notched three goals apiece.
The Lions' scoring was rounded out by Ally Heavens (Garnet Valley, Pa.) and Kayla Brisolari (Crofton, Md.), both of whom scored goals. On defense, Smith bounced back to play her best game of the season, turning aside 10 Commodore efforts en route to her fifth win of the season.
The Nittany Lions dominated certain phases of the game, such as draw controls (20-8, won first 19-of-21 draws), but Vanderbilt's Callahan Kent withstood the PSU offensive pressure by making 17 saves. Nevertheless, a 6-1 run bridging halftime grew a 6-5 Penn State lead into a 12-6 margin.
Brisolari closed the first half with her goal before Cyr picked up a Jenna Mosketti (Fallston, Md.) shot to open the scoring in the second half after only 20 seconds to lead 8-5.
Following a Vanderbilt response at 20:44, Cyr scored with 19:57 for a 9-6 lead. A goal by Carter (16:36) and two tallies by Daggett with 12:11 remaining produced the 12-6 lead that Penn State wouldn't relinquish.
The Commodores went on a 3-0 spurt during a stretch of 3:18 that made the game 12-9. O'Donnell and Daggett provided the insurance goals necessary to regain control of the game as Penn State beaten Vanderbilt for the seventh straight time.
The Nittany Lions received a strong defensive game from Cyr who had four caused turnovers, while Mosketti won seven draws. Abby Smucker (Bel Air, Md.) made her presence known with a pair of ground balls, caused turnovers and three draw controls, while Natalie Schmitt (Malvern, Pa.) earned three draws, a caused turnover and a ground ball.
Penn State now turns its attention to a crucial mid-week battle with fellow top 10 team, No. 7 Princeton, on Wednesday at 3 p.m. That game will be played at Penn State Lacrosse Field.