|
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- For the second straight game, the No. 8 Penn State women's lacrosse team did not fall behind on their way to a 14-10 victory over seventh-ranked Princeton. Senior midfielder Madison Cyr (Westminster, Md.) and junior attack Steph Lazo (Stevensville, Md.) led the Nittany Lion attack with seven points apiece, while Emi Smith (Denver, Colo.) made seven saves.
"They just did a great job of being patient and seeing each other," head coach Missy Doherty said of Lazo and Cyr. "Steph did a good job of challenging in so it looked like a threat and keeping her head up for Madison."
Cyr tallied a career-high six goals and added an assist for good measure. Additionally, she caused seven turnovers, also a new career-high to cap her all-around effort. Lazo was terrific in a distributing role, dishing seven times to aid in the Penn State attack.
Jenna Mosketti (Fallston, Md.) tallied a hat trick, while Katie O'Donnell (West Chester, Pa.) and Madison Carter (Davidsonville, Md.) scored two goals each.
The Penn State defense was swarming all day, causing 17 of Princeton's 23 turnovers and holding the Tigers without a shot for the opening 10 minutes of the game as Penn State (7-1) opened a 6-0 lead through the 12:21 mark in the first half.
Ally Heavens (Garnet Valley, Pa.) scored 47 seconds into the game to put the Nittany Lions ahead. Two minutes later, O'Donnell scored from the free position. Just more than a minute after that, Cyr scored her first goal of the game before Mosketti scored three straight goals.
Princeton (4-2) scored twice to cut the Penn State lead to four, 6-2, but two more goals from Cyr put the Nittany Lions ahead 8-2 at halftime.
The Tigers netted three straight to start the second half to cut the deficit to three, 8-5. Doherty called timeout and 20 seconds later Cyr scored her fourth goal of the game. The Penn State lead was at least four goals or more for the remainder of the game, stretching to 14-7 on Cyr's finally tally of the day, which was assisted by Lazo with 6:14 remaining. Five of Cyr's six goals had a Lazo assist.
A key to Penn State's victory was the defensive play of midfielder Abby Smucker (Bel Air, Md.) who was tasked with guarding Princeton's Olivia Hompe. The Tiger attacker entered the game second nationally in goals per game (4.20) and was limited to just one goal and one assist, both points came after PSU had a seven-goal lead. Smucker finished with two caused turnovers and Hompe had three turnovers and only four shot attempts.
Penn State was more careful with the ball, committing 16 turnovers to Princeton's 23. The Nittany Lions outshot the Tigers, 30-23, holding a 17-7 advantage at the half. Penn State successfully converted on 20 of 23 clears, while Princeton went 16-for-21.
Another tough matchup awaits the Nittany Lions as they fly across the country for a top-20 showdown at No. 14 Stanford on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.