UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A career day by junior Maria Auth led a high-powered Nittany Lion offense as the Penn State women's lacrosse team dominated in a 21-5 win over Ohio State on Thursday at Panzer Stadium. The Nittany Lions scored 14 goals in the first half on their way to their first Big Ten win of the season. Penn State improved to 5-6 overall and 1-3 in Big Ten play, while Ohio State fell to 8-5 and 0-3 in league action.
Penn State ended the game with a 43-21 advantage in shots. The Nittany Lions also won the ground ball battle (20-7) and the draw control battle (16-7), while causing 14 turnovers.
Auth tallied a career-best nine points, including six goals and three assists. Four of her goals came in the first half and she assisted on PSU's first three scores of the game. Sophomore Sophia Triandafils added a career-best five points, three goals and two assists, as one of four Nittany Lions with a hat-trick. Senior Delaney Muldoon contributed a career-high four points with three goals and an assist, while Kayla Brisolari found the net three times. Sophomore Quinn Nicolai added two goals and a dish, while Taylor Suplee made eight saves in goal.
The Buckeyes were led by Lindsay Epstein's two goals. Sophie Baez added a goal and an assists, while McKayla Conti and Sara Dickinson each scored once. Jill Rizzo made 15 stops.
The Nittany Lions jumped out to an early 4-0 lead. Nicolai scored PSU's first two goals, both off assists by Auth, before Muldoon found the net off an Auth dish. Brisolari sent a snipe to the back of the net, off an assist by Muldoon, to give PSU a four-goal advantage at the 23:39 mark.
A tally by Conti was answered by PSU scores from Muldoon and Auth with the second coming in a man-up opportunity. OSU's Epstein found the net to cut the PSU lead to 6-2.
However, the Nittany Lions scored the last eight goals of the half. Auth scored on back-to-back free-position looks, just 17 seconds apart, before Brisolari scored off a feed by Sophia Triandafils with 9:53 remaining. Kristin Roberto and Muldoon scored unassisted tallies before a free-position goal by Brisolari. Senior Kelly Daggett scored with 5:20 remaining before Auth found the net with just eight seconds to go in the half to give PSU a 14-2 advantage going into the break.
Auth opened the second half scoring at the 27:29 mark, off an assist by Sophia Triandafils, before Triandafils recorded her own goal just two minutes later.
OSU's Epstein cut the Buckeye deficit to 16-3 but Auth responded with a tally, off a feed by Nicolai. The Buckeyes' Dickinson answered with a snipe. PSU led 17-4 with 19:25 remaining in the game.
Sophia Triandafils scored the next two goals, one on a man-up, free-position opportunity.
After an answer by OSU's Baez, the Nittany Lions closed out the game with goals by Erin Triandafils, off an assist by Katie Garvey, and a free-position goal by Yasmain Hamood.
The Nittany Lions take on No. 8 Virginia on Sunday. First draw is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Panzer Stadium with a broadcast on BTN Plus.
Junior Maria Auth tallied a career-high nine points and tied a career-high with six goals