UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Women's Lacrosse team hosts Lehigh on Saturday for its home opener at Panzer Stadium. First draw is scheduled for 3 p.m. with a broadcast on BTN Plus.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Missy Doherty, won their season opener 12-9 at Towson. Sophia Triandafils scored a team-high four goals, tying a career high. Maria Auth and Kristin Roberto each tallied three goals. Taylor Suplee was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after making 12 saves.
Lehigh, coached by Jill Redfern, is 2-0 after a 17-11 win over UMBC on Tuesday. The Mountain Hawks won their season opener, 16-5, against Iona.
Follow along with the action on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@PennStateWLAX).
TICKETS
Tickets will be available at the stadium. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for youth (ages 12 and under).
PARKING
Due to multiple events in the Bryce Jordan Center area, fans are encouraged to park in the Bryce Jordan Center South parking lot, on the side in front of the Multi-Sport Facility. RVs will be relocated to the Porter North Lot next to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS
Lehigh, coached by Jill Redfern, is in her 12th season leading the program. Former Nittany Lion standout Katie O'Donnell is in her first season as an assistant coach.
The Mountain Hawks opened the 2020 season with a 16-5 win over Iona and added a 17-11 win at UMBC on Tuesday. Sondra Dickey led Lehigh with eight points (seven goals) in the win over UMBC. Katia Carnevale contributed five goals and two assists.
Through two games, Dickey paces the Mountain Hawks with 12 points and 11 goals. Carnevale has eight goals and three assists, while Gabby Schneider has three goals and eight assists. Samantha Sagi has 14 saves through two wins.
Lehigh finished 8-9 overall in 2019, including a 4-5 mark in Patriot League play. Sondra Dickey returned after leading the team with 67 points (53) goals last season. Penn State won last year's matchup, 15-5, in the first ever game at Panzer Stadium.
TOWSON RECAP
The Nittany Lions benefitted from a balanced scoring attack in a 12-9 victory at Towson last Saturday.
Junior Sophia Triandafils led the team with a career high-tying four goals, including the final two of the game to help seal the win. Senior Maria Auth tallied three goals and an assist. Fellow senior Kristin Roberto added three goals. Roberto led PSU with six draw controls, while freshman Olivia Dirks won four draws. Freshman Meghan Murray and junior Quinn Nicolai each had one goal.
Sophomore Taylor Suplee made 12 saves, including seven in the first half. It was her 10th career double-digit save performance. Suplee also led PSU with seven groundballs.
AUTH REACHES 150-POINT MARK
Senior attacker Maria Auth collected three goals and an assist in Saturday's win over Towson to raise her career point total to 151. She has 107 goals and 44 assists in 151 career games. It was her 18th career game with three or more goals.
Auth led the Nittany Lions with 46 points, including 32 goals in 2019. She had 11 multi-point games and 10 games with multiple goals. She was an All-Big Ten selection in 2019.
SUPLEE EARNS B1G HONOR
Sophomore Taylor Suplee made many key saves in the win over Towson, leading to being named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Her 12 saves were the most in the Big Ten in week 1 and the 12th-most in the nation. Suplee recorded a career-high seven groundballs against Towson, the second-most in the nation.
Suplee's 12 saves were her 10th career performance with double-digit saves. Her career high is 18 saves against Maryland in the 2019 Big Ten Semifinal.
Prior to the season, Suplee was named a Big Ten Player to Watch after finishing No. 2 in the conference with 9.71 saves per game in 2019. She was also third in the conference in save percentage (.481) and total saves (165).
CARTER EARNS EARLY SEASON HONOR
Senior attacker Madison Carter was selected to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List on Wednesday. She was named a third-team Preseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse in January. Carter returns for her fifth year after suffering an injury early last season. She graduated in May with a degree in Rehabilitation and Human Services and is pursuing a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She is a two-time IWLCA All-American and a three-time All-Big Ten selection.
Through the first six games of the 2019 season, Carter tallied 17 goals, four assists, five groundballs, 24 draw controls and two caused turnovers. She had three multi-point games, including a career high-tying six goals against Cornell. She also had five goals and six draw controls at Princeton.
Carter enters the 2020 season sitting fifth all-time at Penn State with 197 goals. She is also seventh in program history with 218 career points. In 2019, Carter became the 15th Nittany Lion to reach the 200-point mark.
PENN STATE SELECTS TEAM CAPTAINS
The Nittany Lions selected four players as team captains for the 2020 season. Senior attacker Madison Carter, senior defender Hayley DeAgostine, junior attacker/midfielder Quinn Nicolai and junior midfielder Sophia Triandafils were tabbed to lead the squad.
DeAgostine, a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, started all 17 games in 2019. She totaled 16 groundballs, two draw controls and nine caused turnovers. Nicolai made 15 starts on attack last season, leading the team with 34 goals. She ranked second on the team with 42 points. She placed seventh in the Big Ten with 4.0 shots on goal per game. Triandafils started 14 games at midfield, recording a team-high 17 assists to go with 24 goals and 16 draw controls.
The captains will lead the 24 returners and 11 newcomers that make up the 2020 squad.
NEW FACES ON COACHING STAFF
The Nittany Lions welcomed assistant coaches Corrine Drost and Michael Molster to the staff.
Drost served as the offensive coordinator at William & Mary in 2019. Molster spent seven seasons at Towson, coaching the defense and goalies. He is also a defensive assistant for the England Senior National Team.
SECOND YEAR IN PANZER
The Nittany Lions will open up their second season in Panzer Stadium on Saturday. Penn State earned five home wins in 2019, including four in Panzer Stadium.
The state-of-the-art venue was dedicated on September 23, 2018. The stadium project was made possible through the efforts of Ken Panzer, a 1982 graduate and former co-captain of the men's lacrosse team, and his long-time business partner at Douglas Emmett, Jordan Kaplan. In May 2017, the duo committed a $3.55 million gift to transform the Penn State Lacrosse Field into one of the premier lacrosse stadiums in the country. Additional gifts by Penn State lacrosse alumni and donors totaled $2 million, bringing the total donations to $5.6 million.
Senior Kristin Roberto