HARRISONBURG, Va. – The No. 21 Penn State Women's Lacrosse team fell 16-6 at No. 16 James Madison on Wednesday. The Nittany Lions dropped to 4-2 on the season, while the Dukes improved to 4-1 overall.
Five Nittany Lions scored at least one goal. Sophomore Lauren Craft led Penn State with two goals, including one on a free-position opportunity. Senior Maria Auth, freshman Olivia Dirks, senior Yasmain Hamood and senior Kristin Roberto each tallied one goal. Juniors Quinn Nicolai and Sophia Triandafils and sophomore Sydney Wolfington each had one assist. Sophomore Taylor Suplee made 10 saves, her 14th career double-digit save effort.
James Madison was paced by three players each scoring three goals. Kacey Knobloch notched three goals and two assists. Maddie McDaniel recorded three goals and an assist, while Taylor Marchetti registered three goals. Logan Brennan found the net twice and added an assist, while Ava Frantz scored twice. Molly Dougherty made 14 saves in goal.
After both teams were held scoreless through the first 11 minutes, the Nittany Lions got on the board first. Roberto cut to the middle and found the net off a pass from Triandafils.
James Madison responded with a 4-0 run, sparked by McDaniel at the 17:02 mark. Marchetti followed with a goal before Knobloch found the net. Frantz finished off the run to give the Dukes a 4-1 advantage with 13:44 remaining in the half.
Dirks cut the deficit to two, scoring on a free-position opportunity with 13:05 to go in the half.
However, the Dukes answered with a 3-0 run to close the half. Kelsey Reed started the run, followed by McDaniel, and Marchetti scored on a free-position opportunity to give James Madison a 7-2 lead going into the break.
The Dukes opened the second half with a goal by Knobloch. Penn State's Auth answered with a goal off a feed from Nicolai. A tally by JMU's Isabella Peterson was answered by a free-position goal from Craft.
James Madison scored back-to-back goals, one each by Katie Checkosky and Frantz.
Penn State took advantage of a man-up opportunity with a goal by Hamood to cut the deficit to 11-5 with 17:39 remaining.
Back-to-back goals by Brennan extended James Madison's lead to 13-5, but the Nittany Lions answered with a goal by Craft off an assist by Wolfington.
James Madison closed out the game with three straight goals, including one each by Knobloch, McDaniel and Marchetti.
The Nittany Lions visit Vanderbilt on Sunday, March 8 for its final non-conference matchup before Big Ten play begins. First draw is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
Follow along with the action on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@PennStateWLAX).
Sophomore Lauren Craft led PSU with two goals