UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's lacrosse sophomore goalie Taylor Suplee won her second Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award on Tuesday. Suplee was a huge contributor in the Nittany Lions' wins over Duquesne and Cornell. She was also the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week following PSU's season-opening win at Towson.
The sophomore was outstanding in Penn State's 19-9 win over Cornell on Sunday. She made a career-high 20 saves in 51 minutes of action. That topped her previous high of 18 against Maryland in the 2019 Big Ten Semifinals. Suplee made 16 of her 20 saves in the first half. It was her 12th double-digit save performance of her career and her third this season.
Suplee became the first Penn State goalie to record 20 saves in a game since Cammie Jurkowsky made 20 saves against North Carolina on April 6, 2007.
In the 20-6 win over Duquesne on Wednesday, Suplee made seven saves and allowed just three goals in 30 minutes of action.
On the season, Suplee leads the Big Ten in save percentage (.654), goals-against average (8.04), saves per game (12.75) and groundballs per game (4.25). She is also second in the conference with 51 total saves.
Suplee ranks third in the country in save percentage and total saves. She holds 13th in goals-against average.
She is a major part of Penn State's defensive success this year. The Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten and rank second in the country with a .645 save percentage. Penn State paces the Big Ten allowing only 8.25 goals per game, good for 19th in the country.
The Nittany Lions, lead by Head Coach Missy Doherty, are 4-0 and ranked 19th in this week's IWLCA Coaches Poll. Penn State is set for a Top 20 matchup on Saturday when it takes on No. 5 Loyola (MD) at 1 p.m. at Panzer Stadium.
