Feb. 18, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sophomore Madison Carter (Davidsonville, Md.) potted five goals to help lift No. 7 Penn State past Lehigh, 18-9, in non-conference women's lacrosse action this afternoon from the Penn State Lacrosse Field.
With the win the Nittany Lions Improve to 3-0 while the Mountain Hawks fall to 0-1.
Junior Katie O'Donnell (West Chester, Pa.) added four goals while senior Steph Lazo (Stevensville, Md.) added two goals and two assists and sophomore Kelly Daggett (Bainbridge, Pa) also had two goals.
Penn State opened the scoring early, as just 43 seconds in senior Abby Smucker (Bel Air, Md.) found the back of the net for her second goal of the year and the 1-0 lead.
Lehigh answered as just 70 seconds later Haley Wentzel potted the equalizer before Penn State went on a 7-0 run to grab the 8-1 lead with 7:48 to play in the first half. Carter scored three times during the run and O'Donnell added a pair while Daggett and senior Taylor Bleistein (Bayville, N.Y.) added the others.
The Mountain Hawks ended the first half with a 4-1 spurt as O'Donnell was the lone Penn State goal scorer at 3:06 and the Nittany Lions took the 9-5 lead into the intermission.
Penn State started fast again in the second half scoring four straight goals by Lazo, O'Donnell, Daggett and Carter to grab the 13-5 lead at the 22:52 mark. Lehigh returned the favor with a 4-0 bulge of their own for the 13-9 score midway through the final half.
However, that was as close as the visitors would get as Penn State ended the game scoring the final five goals to capture the 18-9 victory and remain unbeaten in the early season.
Freshman, Madison Cunningham (Davie, Fla.) secured her first win in her first collegiate start after making 2 saves over the first 44:16. She was then replaced by senior Cat Rainone (Newtown Square, Pa.) played the final 15:44 without allowing a goal and stopping five shots. Lehigh net minder Taylor Tvedt falls to 1-0 after a ten save performance.
Senior Erika Spilker (Severna Park, Md.) had a solid defensive day registering a trio of ground balls, draw controls and cause turnovers. O'Donnell also added three draw controls, three cause turnovers and two ground balls to go along with her four goals.
Penn State held the 33-21 edge in shots including the 28-16 advantage on target. The Nittany Lions also controlled the draws 17-12, but Lehigh held the 24-19 advantage in ground balls. PSU also caused 17 turnovers as a team while going 18-of-22 on clear attempts.
The Nittany Lions return to action as they begin a three-game road swing with a trip to Duquesne on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. affair with the Dukes.