UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 19 Penn State Women's Lacrosse team is set to host UAlbany on Saturday at Panzer Stadium. The contest is slated for a 1 p.m. first draw with a live stream on BTN Plus.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Missy Doherty, looks to bounce back from a tough 11-9 loss against No. 7 James Madison on Wednesday. Penn State is 3-3 and ranked No. 19 in the IWLCA Poll.
UAlbany, coached by Katie Rowan, is 3-1 coming off a 16-13 setback against No. 22 Stanford last Friday.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for youth (ages 12 and under), available for purchase at the Panzer Stadium ticket window. Students get in free by showing their Penn State ID.
Follow the action on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewlax).
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
The Nittany Lions meet the Great Danes for the fourth time in program history.
Penn State has won the last two games in the series, including a 17-7 win at Albany last season. PSU held a 13-3 advantage at halftime, including a 7-1 run to start the game. Maria Auth led the blue and white with four goals and an assist. Katie O'Donnell added three goals and Madison Carter, Quinn Nicolai and Sophia Triandafils each had two tallies.
SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES
UAlbany, coached by Katie Rowan, is 3-1 heading into Saturday's matchup. The Great Danes own wins over Yale (15-13), Bucknell (18-9) and Bryant (21-11), but fell 16-13 against No. 22 Stanford last Friday.
On Friday, Albany outscored the Cardinal, 8-6, in the second half. A balanced scoring effort saw Kendra Harbinger lead the team with three goals, followed by Hailey Carroll, Madison Conway, Hannah Newman and Sam Tortora each with two. Georgia Schneidereith and Erin Leghart each made four saves in the loss.
Harbinger leads the squad with 16 goals and 5 assists. Kyla Zapolski has 11 goals and an assist, while Carroll has 11 goals and 16 draw controls.
The Great Danes rank eighth in the nation in scoring offense (16.75 goals per game) and fifth in free-position percentage (.581).
BALANCED EFFORT
The Nittany Lions used a balanced offensive effort against James Madison. Nicolai, Kristin Roberto and Triandafils each scored two goals, with Triandafils adding an assist. Carter, Lauren Craft and Delaney Muldoon each had a goal.
On the year, five different Nittany Lions have 10 or more points. Carter leads the team with 21 points (17 goals, 4 assists). Kayla Brisolari has 13 points (8g, 5a), Triandafils has 12 points (6g, 6a), Nicolai has 11 points (9g, 2a) and Muldoon owns 10 points (6g, 4a).
CARTER SELECTED FOR TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
Carter was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List on February 28. It marks her third straight season on the watch list. The two-time All-American leads PSU with 17 goals and 21 points this year.
Carter ranks eighth in the Big Ten with 2.83 goals per game. She is also ninth in the Big Ten and 39th in the country with 17 goals. She's fifth in the conference with four draw controls per game. The senior is third among active DI players with 334 career draw controls.
She was the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on February 27 and was the Brine/US Lacrosse Player of the Week on February 13.
CARTER MOVES UP POINTS LIST
With a goal against James Madison, senior Madison Carter now has 218 career points and sits in sole possession of seventh all-time at Penn State. She passed Laurie Gray (1981-84) last Saturday and now sits nine points behind former teammate Katie O'Donnell (2015-18) for sixth place.
Carter currently ranks ninth in the nation among career active leaders in points and third in goals (197).
The Maryland native had five goals and an assist, all coming in the second half, against Princeton. It was her 21st career game with five or more points. She tallied a season-high seven points at Cornell, including a career high-tying six goals.
On Carter's second goal of the Towson game, with 12:46 left to go, the senior earned her 200th career point, becoming the 15th Nittany Lion to reach the 200-point mark for her career.
SHOOT TO SCORE
One of the keys to PSU's offensive attack this year is a high volume of shots. PSU ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 24th nationally averaging 33.2 shots per game. The Nittany Lions also sit 19th in the nation, and third in the conference, averaging 25.5 shots on goal per game.
SECOND HALF SURGE
PSU is currently averaging 6.7 goals in the second half.
The Nittany Lions scored seven times in the second half against Princeton, led by Carter's five goals. PSU started the second half at Cornell with four unanswered goals to take a 12-6 lead early in the half. Against Lehigh, PSU scored the first seven goals of the second half, including two goals each from Lauren Craft and Delaney Muldoon. PSU outscored Lehigh, 9-2 in the half. In the season opener, PSU scored 10 goals in the second half against Towson, starting the period on a 6-1 run.
IN THE POLLS
The Nittany Lions dropped to No. 19 in this week's IWLCA Poll. The blue and white is also No. 19 in the Inside Lacrosse Poll. PSU was selected third the Preseason Big Ten Poll behind Maryland and Northwestern.
FIRST WIN IN PANZER
The Nittany Lions earned a 15-5 win over Lehigh in the first ever regular season game at Panzer Stadium on February 16. The state-of-the-art venue was dedicated on September 23, 2018. The facility features a new videoboard, permanent concessions, accessible bathrooms and a ticket office.
The first goal in Panzer Stadium history was scored by Kristin Roberto with 26:50 left in the first half.
NATIONAL AUDIENCE
Penn State will be featured on three Big Ten Network broadcasts and two ESPNU broadcasts this Spring.
The Nittany Lions' Big Ten home opener against No. 2 Maryland on March 21 will be shown on ESPNU. The blue and white will also face No. 17 Johns Hopkins in an ESPNU matchup on April 19.
The blue and white's matchup at No. 4 Northwestern, a 7 p.m. start, will be broadcast on Big Ten Network on March 28. PSU will also be on BTN on April 4 vs. Ohio State, a 7 p.m. matchup, and April 27 vs. Rutgers, an 11 a.m. game.
Junior Brittany Dolan