March 21, 2017
PRINCETON, N.J. - Junior Katie O'Donnell (West Chester, Pa.) registered her third consecutive hat-trick to help lift No. 10 Penn State past No. 5 Princeton, 13-8, in non-conference action this afternoon from Sherrerd Field.
Sophomores Kelly Daggett (Bainbridge, Pa.) and Madison Carter (Davidsonville, Md.) along with senior Steph Lazo (Stevensville, Md.) each added a pair of goals of their own to lead the way offensively.
Penn State (9-1) raced out to the early 5-0 lead just 4:15 into the contest with Lazo and O'Donnell alternating goals and Daggett adding the later for the large lead. However, the Tigers (5-1) stormed right back scoring the next six goals to grab the 6-5 lead at the 6:49 mark of the opening half. Ellie McNulty scored twice during that span for the hosts.
The Nittany Lions righted the ship before halftime and used another 3-0 spurt to take the 8-6 lead into the break. Senior Abby Smucker (Bel Air, Md.), O'Donnell and junior Maggie Gallagher (Bel Air, Md.) were the goal scorers for the visitors.
Penn State increased that lead early in the second half as Daggett and sophomore Kayla Brisolari (Crofton, Md.) scored the opening two goals for the Nittany Lions to take the 10-6 lead at the 23:36 mark.
Princeton again responded as Tess D'Orsi and Anna Doherty scored for the Tigers cutting the deficit to a pair of goals with 13:18 to play. However, strong PSU defense and a goal from senior Shelby Wells (Timonium, Md.) and a pair by Carter accounted for the final score.
Senior Cat Rainone (Newtown Square, Pa.) registered a career-high 10 saves and improves to 8-1 on the season while her counterpart, Ellie DeGarmo stopped 11 shots in the defeat to fall to 5-1.
Penn State held the 35-26 edge in shots including the 24-18 margin on target while also controlling the draw, 14-9. Princeton held the 24-18 advantage in ground balls and each team has 21 turnovers.
Smucker led the way with a game-high four caused turnovers and collected three ground balls while senior Natalie Schmitt (Malvern, Pa.) had a game-best four ground balls. Carter and Brisolari led the way on the draw with five and four, respectively.
Penn State returns to action this weekend as they travel to Johns Hopkins to resume Big Ten Conference play with a 4:30 p.m. affair on Saturday afternoon.