March 16, 2018
| GAMEDAY PREVIEW | |
| 5-3 | 4-4 |
| Saturday - 12:00 p.m. ET | |
| HIGH POINT SOLUTIONS STADIUM | PISCATAWAY, N.J. | |
| GAME DAY CENTRAL |
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| INSIDE THE NUMBERS | ||
| PSU | RUT | |
| 5-3 | Overall Record | 4-4 |
| 0-0 | Conference Record | 0-0 |
| 128 | Goals Scored | 100 |
| 92 | Goals Allowed | 94 |
| 16.00 | Goals Scored/gm. | 12.50 |
| 11.50 | Goals Allowed/gm. | 11.75 |
| 272 | Shots | 246 |
| 34.0 | Shots/gm. | 30.8 |
| 43 | Assists | 30 |
| 43-78 | Free Position Shots | 26-58 |
| 76 | Saves | 72 |
| 15.50 | Ground Balls/gm. | 16.63 |
| 15.38 | Draw Controls/gm. | 12.68 |
| 12.88 | Turnovers/gm. | 14.88 |
| 10.68 | Caused Turnovers/gm. | 7.38 |
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The 17th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions hit the road after consecutive wins as they open Big Ten Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Rutgers.
THE MATCHUP
- This marks the fourth-straight season that the Nittany Lions and Scarlet Knights have opened conference play against each other with Penn State defeating Rutgers on each occasion.
- Penn State is outscoring Rutgers 68-31 over the last four meetings averaging 17.00 goals per game and winning by an average margin of 9.25 goals.
- PSU holds the 18-0 all-time series lead in this the 19th meeting between the two schools dating back to 1978 and the fifth consecutive year the teams have met.
- Dating back to the 2011 season Penn State has won seven-straight conference openers. From 2011-2014 those were American Lacrosse Conference games prior to the formation of the Big Ten for the start of the 2015 season.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
- Rutgers is 4-4 on the season, but is coming off back-to-back losses against JMU and Villanova. The Scarlet Knights finished the 2017 season 8-8 with a 2-4 mark in the Big Ten.
- Rutgers ranks second to last in the Big Ten scoring just 10.8 goals per contest and averaging 26 shots per game. The Knights also rank last in the conference on the draw averaging just 10.38 draw controls per game.
- Rutgers is led on offense by Samantha Budd with 18 goals and 22 points while Kerri Puckhaber and Paige Paratore have added 15 and 14 goals, respectively. Allison Ferrara and Abbey Brooks have added 11 and 10 goals to round out the double-digit goal scorers.
- Devon Kearns has started seven of eight games between the pipes for Rutgers posting a 4-3 record with a .454 save percentage and a 12.19 goals against average.
SOPHOMORE STANDOUT
- In back-to-back contests sophomore Maria Auth has set new career-highs in goals and points and is coming off the best game of her young career on Wednesday against Drexel as she found the back of the net six times while adding an assist for seven points.
- Auth has now registered at least one goal in 11 straight games dating back to last season's NCAA Tournament.
- The sophomore moved up to second on the team with 24 goals to rank third in the Big Ten and tied for 26th nationally.
22 JUMP STREET
- Penn State exploded for a season-high 22 goals during a Wednesday victory over Drexel marking the first time since a season opening 20-9 victory over Albany in 2017 (28 games) that the Nittany Lions have hit the 20-goal mark in a game.
- The 20-goal game is also just the second such game in the last four seasons by Penn State and the most goals they've scored in a single game since pouring in 22 during a 22-2 victory over Bucknell on March 2, 2011 (144 games ago).
SCORING OFFENSE
- After their 22 goals on Wednesday, the Nittany Lions have moved up to tied eighth in the nation averaging 16.00 goals per contest, which trails on Maryland's 17.50 to pace the Big Ten.
- Penn State's 128 goals on the season is also second in the Big Ten only trailing the 132 of Johns Hopkins who has played one more contest to date than the Nittany Lions. The 128 goals also rank fourth in the entire nation, but first among teams who have played eight games or less.
DEFENSIVE MINDSET
- Just a few weeks into the 2018 season junior Kelly Daggett moved from attack to defense in order to help out a young defensive unit and she has thrived in her new role.
- Last Sunday against Albany, Daggett tied her career-high with four groundballs and four caused turnovers. The junior currently leads the team with 15 groundballs and 16 caused turnovers on the year.
- Daggett's 16 caused turnovers and 2.00 average per game both lead the Big Ten and rank tied 11th and tied for 26th in the nation, respectively.
- In 2017, Daggett finished tied for seventh on the team in goal scoring with 15 goals and only had four caused turnovers the entire season.
GAINING POSSESSION
- Madison Carter leads the Big Ten with 51 draw controls averaging 6.38 per game, which also tops the conference. She ranks tenth and 14th in the nation, respectively, in each category.
- As a team Penn State is second in the Big Ten and 15th in the nation averaging 15.38 draws per game.
STREAKING UP THE RECORD BOOKS
- Madison Carter has registered multiple goals in seven of her eight games played this season including four games with at least four goals. Dating back to last season, Carter has an 11-game goal streak.
- Carter's 29 goals lead the Big Ten and rank tied for fourth in the nation and after starting the season 17th on the Penn State all-time goals list the junior now sits 10th with her 147 career goals in just 49 games.
- Katie O'Donnell has scored multiple goals in seven of eight games this season and is riding a 30 game goal streak.
- O'Donnell's 22 goals this season are third on the team behind Carter and Auth. The senior's 164 career goals place her fourth on the all-time Penn State goals list.
NEXT UP
- Penn State returns home for a pair of nationally televised games next week as they host Princeton in a rematch of last year's NCAA Quarterfinals at 4 p.m. on Monday before battling Johns Hopkins on Thursday evening at 7 p.m.
- Both games will air on the Big Ten Network.