April 7, 2017
| GAMEDAY PREVIEW | |
| 12-1 (3-0 B1G) | 7-6 (2-3 ACC) |
| Saturday - 1:00 p.m. | |
| PENN STATE LACROSSE FIELD | UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. | |
| GAME DAY CENTRAL |
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| INSIDE THE NUMBERS | ||
| PSU | UVA | |
| 12-1 | Overall Record | 7-6 |
| 3-0 | Conference Record | 2-3 |
| 192 | Goals Scored | 167 |
| 122 | Goals Allowed | 150 |
| 14.77 | Goals Scored/gm. | 12.85 |
| 9.38 | Goals Allowed/gm. | 11.54 |
| 433 | Shots | 434 |
| 33.3 | Shots/gm. | 33.4 |
| 84 | Assists | 71 |
| 39-113 | Free Position Shots | 34-76 |
| 99 | Saves | 99 |
| 18.54 | Ground Balls/gm. | 20.62 |
| 15.38 | Draw Controls/gm. | 14.15 |
| 15.31 | Turnovers/gm. | 16.15 |
| 9.54 | Caused Turnovers/gm. | 10.62 |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The fifth-ranked Penn State women's lacrosse team welcomes No. 15 Virginia to Happy Valley for a 1 p.m. non-conference tilt on Saturday afternoon.
THE MATCHUP
- This marks the 39th all-time meeting with the Cavaliers holding the 21-17 series advantage including 17 wins in the last 21 meetings since 1997.
- Virginia secured a 16-13 victory in last year's meeting in Charlottesville. Katie O'Donnell, Abby Smucker and Madison Carter each recorded a pair of goals in the defeat.
- Penn State was outscored 9-5 in the opening half and surged in the second half to close the gap, but it was not enough as they ultimately dropped the contest.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Nittany Lions used a 8-0 spurt during the end of the first half and beginning of the second half to race past Ohio State en route to a 16-12 victory last Saturday.
- Carter scored five times while Smucker added a hat trick and senior Steph Lazo scored twice while dishing out three assists in the victory.
SENIOR DAY
- Prior to the start of the game, Penn State will honor its seven seniors Erika Spilker, Sarah Piazza, Abby Smucker, Natalie Schmitt, Steph Lazo, Taylor Bleistein and Cat Rainone in a brief ceremony on the field.
HISTORIC NUMBERS
- Senior Steph Lazo is having one of the best seasons in recent history for the Nittany Lions. Her 71 points currently top the Big Ten and rank third in the nation while also tying her season total from 2016.
- Lazo's 33 assists also lead the Big Ten and rank third in the nation while her 38 goals are good for third in the Big Ten and tied for 18th nationally.
- Lazo currently sits 15th on the Penn State all-time scoring list with 193 points for her career while her 79 career assists tie for seventh.
- Lazo has a chance to become just the 13th player in program history to register 200 points for her career and she can also become just the third player in the last 27 years to register 80+ points in a single-season joining Madison Cyr (2016) and Maggie McCormick (2013).
- Madison Cyr's 83 points from last season are also a record for a Nittany Lion senior and Lazo is in reach of surpassing that as well.
CARTER NAMED BIG TEN CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Sophomore Madison Carter earned her third weekly honor and second straight after scoring eight goals while adding three assists in two games last week for Penn State.
- Carter's 48 goals on the season lead the Big Ten and are good for third in the nation. The sophomore has scored at least two goals in each game this season and has nine games with three or more goals.
- Carter has only been held without a goal once in her 34 games played during her first two seasons on campus and she is currently riding a 21-game goal streak dating back to last season.
- Carter has scored two or more goals 27 times over the past two seasons and she currently sits just four goals shy of hitting 100 for her career.
SILENT ASSASSIN
- Senior Abby Smucker is currently having one of the best years of her career and is doing it under the radar. One of the nation's best defensive midfielders is producing on both offense and defense for the Nittany Lions.
- Smucker has scored 17 goals including eight over the last three games to rank fourth on the team. The senior is currently riding a four game goal streak and also leads the team in ground balls and caused turnovers with 27 and 16, respectively.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
- Penn State moved up one spot to No. 5 in the latest IWLCA Coaches Poll as they hold the second best winning percentage in the nation at .923 only behind Maryland who is a perfect 12-0 on the year.
- The Nittany Lions are also one of the best offensive teams in the nation ranking 14th averaging 14.77 goals per game while their defense ranks 23rd only allowing 9.38 goals per game. PSU's average margin of victory of 5.38 also ranks 13th in the nation.
- The Nittany Lions also lead the Big Ten and rank 6th in the nation in draw controls averaging 15.38 per game.
SCOUTING VIRGINIA
- Virginia is coming off back-to-back losses to Boston College and Maryland after winning five straight contests. The Cavaliers are 7-6 overall and 2-3 in the ACC.
- UVA averages 12.85 goals per game and 33.4 shots per game good for 36th and 14th in the nation, respectively.
- The Cavaliers are paced by Kelly Reese with 33 goals as eight players have registered 10 or more goals so far this season.
- Maggie Jackson and Besser Dyson led the team in assists with 23 and 21, respectively, while Jackson is one of four players with 20 or more goals as she has scored 22 and leads the team with 45 points. Jackson also leads the team in draw controls (53), ground balls (41) and caused turnovers (21).
- Rachel Vander Kolk has started all 13 games in cage for the Cavliers turning in a 7-6 record with an 11.40 goals against average and a .401 save percentage.
- Virginia is outscoring their opponents by 22 goals (93-71) in the first half of games this season, but are being outscored 79-74 in the second half.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions hit the road as they travel to Northwestern on Thursday for a 7 p.m. affair with the Wildcats.