UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's lacrosse junior attacker Rachel Rosen and assistant coach Michael Molster proved to be strong representatives of the Nittany Lions at the 2019 European Championships. The tournament, hosted by Israel, began on July 15 and concluded on Thursday with the medal games. Rosen represented the host nation, while Molster coached the defense and goalies for England.
Rosen led Israel to a silver medal, the country's highest finish at the European Championships. The junior tallied eight goals and 12 assists to rank 13th overall in the tournament, and second on Israel, with 20 points. Rosen also served as the team's draw control specialist. After helping Israel to a 3-2 record in pool play, Rosen led the team to wins over Netherlands and Wales before falling 10-7 in the gold medal game against England.
She appeared in 10 games for the Nittany Lions this Spring, collecting a goal, two assists and four ground balls. She was also an Academic All-Big Ten selection.
Molster led an England defense that allowed the fewest goals in the A group division, known as the upper level division. England went 5-0 in pool play while allowing only 20 goals before knocking off the Czech Republic in the semifinals. England defeated Israel to earn the gold medal.
He joined the Nittany Lions' coaching staff in June 2019 after spending seven seasons as an assistant coach at Towson, where he worked with the defense and goalies.
With their performances at the European Championships, both England and Israel qualified for the 2021 World Cup, which will be held in Towson, Maryland.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Missy Doherty, won eight games in 2019, including victories over No. 11 Towson and No. 21 Johns Hopkins. Penn State is set to return 26 members for the 2020 season, including 2019 All-Big Ten selection Maria Auth and two-time All-American Madison Carter.
Junior Rachel Rosen