UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Three Penn State Women's Lacrosse athletes were named Big Ten Players to Watch on Wednesday. Senior Maria Auth, freshman Olivia Dirks and sophomore Taylor Suplee were all recognized by the conference.
Penn State, ranked 21st in the IWLCA Preseason Poll and 18th in the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Poll, was selected fourth in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll. Northwestern was projected to lead the conference, followed by Maryland and Michigan. Following Penn State in the poll was Johns Hopkins, Ohio State and Rutgers.
Auth, entering her fifth year as a Nittany Lion, has tallied 180 career points, including 154 goals, in 62 games. In 2020, Auth started all seven games, recording 22 goals and 11 assists. She had six games with three or more goals and four or more points. She led the Big Ten and ranked fifth in the nation averaging 1.57 free position goals per game. Auth ranked fifth in the Big Ten in goals and fourth in points. She was an All-Big Ten selection in 2019.
Dirks made an immediate impact in her first year in Happy Valley. She collected three goals, 10 ground balls, seven caused turnovers and a team-best 32 draw controls. Dirks ranked third in the Big Ten averaging 4.57 draw controls per game. She scored one goal in each contest against Duquesne, Cornell and James Madison. She won a career-high nine draws against Loyola and recorded five ground balls, five caused turnovers and seven draw controls against Vanderbilt.
Suplee, an honorable mention Preseason All-America selection by Inside Lacrosse, helped Penn State to rank fourth in the country and lead the Big Ten with a .531 save percentage in 2020. She ranked second in the nation in saves per game (12.43), fifth in saves (87) and seventh in save percentage (.527). She was also fourth in the Big Ten in goals-against average (12.27) and led the conference in ground balls per game (4.0). She made double-digit saves in six of seven games, including a career-high 20 saves in a 19-9 win over Cornell.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Missy Doherty, begin the 2021 campaign on Sunday, February 14, against Rutgers. The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. in Holuba Hall.
Under current Big Ten guidelines, public tickets will not be sold for 2021 Penn State Women's Lacrosse home games.
The NIttany Lions return 26 members from the 2020 squad. Penn State also welcomed nine freshmen who made up Inside Lacrosse's top 2020 recruiting class in the nation.
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewlax).
