|
BALTIMORE -- The No. 8 Penn State women's lacrosse team used stingy defense and a decisive shot count to down No. 18 Johns Hopkins, 11-7, on Wednesday evening at Homewood Field. Madison Cyr (Westminster, Md.) scored a game-high four goals and the Nittany Lions built a 9-1 lead deep into the second half to earn the victory.
"It was a great win," said head coach Missy Doherty. "We really made some great team plays at both ends of the field to earn the victory."
Penn State (3-1) dominated the first half with a shot count of 17-5 and a 4-1 lead. The patient Nittany Lion attack came to lift in the second half as Cyr scored four goals and Madison Carter (Davidson, Md.) added the first of her two goals during what would be a halftime-spanning 8-0 run for a 9-1 lead with 8:11 remaining in the game.
Joining Cyr and Carter as multi-goal scorers was Jenna Mosketti (Fallston, Md.) who pulled down six draw controls. Steph Lazo (Stevensville, Md.) had a three-point evening with a goal and two assists, while freshman Delaney Muldoon (Silver Spring, Md.) registered her first collegiate points during the second half.
A scoreless opening 10 minutes gave way to a Lazo free-position goal before Hopkins' Haley Schwiezer evened the score with 15:41 to go. Johns Hopkins (3-2) would fail to score again for the next 28 minutes as Penn State scored eight straight goals. Mosketti scored both her goals in the latter stages of the first half that sandwiched a Katie O'Donnell (West Chester, Pa.) tally.
In the second half, Cyr scored at 27:49 for a 5-1 lead before Carter tallied with 20:23 to go for a 6-1 edge. Cyr then tallied three straight goals to up her team-leading total to 13 goals for the season and a 9-1 lead. Hopkins would score three goals in the final 1:13 to make what was an 11-4 PSU lead the final 11-7 score line.
Defensively, Penn State caused 13 of Hopkins' 23 turnovers led by double caused turnover performances by Natalie Schmitt (Malvern, Pa.), Lazo and Cyr, who also scooped five of Penn State's 24 ground balls.
Penn State out-shot Hopkins 31-16 for the game and earned 24 of the game's 44 grounders. PSU also won the draw battle with 11 controls. Goalie Emi Smith (Denver, Colo.) had five stops for her third win of the year.
The Nittany Lions head home for their second home game of the season when they welcome Loyola Maryland to Penn State Lacrosse Field at 1 p.m. on Saturday.