UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 21/16 Penn State Women's Lacrosse team is set to take on No. 7/8 Maryland on Sunday at Panzer Stadium. First draw is scheduled for 1 p.m. with a live stream on Big Ten Network+.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Missy Doherty, are ranked No. 21 in the IWLCA Poll and No. 16 in the Inside Lacrosse Poll.
Penn State is coming off a 20-11 win over Rutgers in its season opener last Sunday. Freshman Kristin O'Neill led PSU with six points, including four goals, while senior Maria Auth contributed four goals and an assist. Sophia Triandafils recorded a hat trick and Kara Nealon added two goals and two assists. Taylor Suplee made 12 saves in the win.
Maryland, coached by Cathy Reese, will make its season debut. The Terrapins are ranked No. 7 in the IWLCA Poll and No. 8 in the Inside Lacrosse Poll after going 3-3 in 2020.
NO PUBLIC ATTENDANCE
Under current Big Ten guidelines, public tickets will not be sold for 2021 Penn State Women's Lacrosse home games.
Follow along with the team by watching on Big Ten Network+ or following our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewlax).
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State trails the all-time series, 43-14-1, against Maryland. The teams last met in the 2019 Big Ten Tournament Semifinals when the Nittany Lions fell 15-8. Maria Auth tallied three goals and an assist. Quinn Nicolai and Kristin Roberto each contributed two goals. Taylor Suplee made 18 saves.
MEET THE TERRAPINS
Maryland, coached by Cathy Reese, went 3-3 in 2020 before the season was cut short.
Senior defender Lizzie Colson, fifth-year attacker Brindi Griffin and senior midfielder Grace Griffin were all selected as Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-Americans.
Colson redshirted the 2020 season due to injury but recorded 45 ground balls, 127 draw controls and 25 caused turnovers in 2019. Brindi Griffin collected 15 goals and three assists in 2020, while Grace Griffin registered two goals, three assists and 16 ground balls.
NATIONAL TV NITS
Penn State will have two games televised on ESPNU this season. The Nittany Lions' home contest against Michigan on Sunday, March 21 will be broadcast on ESPNU at 10 a.m.
The Nittany Lions will again appear on "the U" for it's Wednesday, April 7 game at Johns Hopkins, beginning at 4 p.m.
FANTASTIC FRESHMEN
Three true freshmen (Kayla Abernathy, Sammy Dupcak, Kristin O'Neill) and three second-year freshmen (Olivia Dirks, Kara Nealon, Rachel Spilker) started for the Nittany Lions against Rutgers.
O'Neill led the team with six points, including four goals and two assists, and three caused turnovers while adding three draw controls. She tallied three goals and an assist in the second half.
O'Neill's six points were the most in a game by any Division I freshman in week one.
Abernathy contributed two assists, a ground ball and a caused turnover, while Dupcak had an assist, a ground ball, a draw and two caused turnovers.
Dirks scored twice and won a career-high 12 draws, while Nealon had two goals and two assists. Spilker recorded a ground ball and a caused turnover.
20 GOALS
Penn State notched 20 goals in its season-opening win over Rutgers. It was Penn State's most goals in a Big Ten opener and its most in a season opener since 2017 vs. Albany (20 goals).
The Nittany Lions scored 20 goals in a game for the 11th time in the Missy Doherty era (since 2011). Pen State has had a 20-goal game in each of the last five seasons.
O'NEILL, SUPLEE COLLECT BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS
Kristin O'Neill was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, while Taylor Suplee was tabbed the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for their efforts against Rutgers.
O'Neill paced PSU with six points, including four goals and two assists, and three caused turnovers. She tallied three goals and an assist in the second half. Her six points were the most of any Division I freshmen in week one.
Suplee recorded 12 saves in the win, including six in each half. She posted double-digit saves for the 16th time in her career.
NITTANY LIONS SELECT CAPTAINS
Juniors Quinn Nicolai and Sophia Triandafils were elected captains by their teammates for the 2021 season. Both served as captains for the 2020 campaign.
Nicolai started all seven games in 2020, tallying nine goals and three assists. She is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar as a rehabilitation and human services major.
Triandafils collected 15 goals and seven assists in 2020, ranking 10th in the Big Ten averaging 3.14 points per game. The communication sciences and disorders major is also a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
THREE NAMED BIG TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH
Senior Maria Auth, freshman Olivia Dirks and sophomore Taylor Suplee were named Big Ten Players to Watch for the 2021 season.
Auth has tallied 180 career points, including 154 goals. She led the Nittany Lions with 22 goals and 11 assists in 2020, including six games with three or more goals. She paced the Big Ten with 1.57 free position goals per game. She was also fifth in the conference in goals and fourth in points.
Dirks made an immediate impact in Happy Valley, collecting three goals and a team-best 32 draw controls. She ranked third in the Big Ten with 4.57 draw controls per game.
Suplee helped Penn State to rank fourth in the country, and lead the Big Ten, with a team .531 save percentage. She made double-digit saves in six of seven games in 2020, including a career-high 20 saves against Cornell.
SUPLEE EARNS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN HONOR
Sophomore goalie Taylor Suplee was named honorable mention Preseason All-America by Inside Lacrosse. She was an honorable mention Postseason All-American following the 2020 season.
Suplee led the Big Ten and ranked second in the country averaging 12.43 saves per game. She also sat fifth in the nation, and second in the conference, with 87 saves.
The sophomore recorded a .527 save percentage, holding seventh in the nation, and a 12.27 goals-against average, ranking fourth in the Big Ten. Suplee paced the conference averaging 4.0 ground balls per game.
TOP INCOMING CLASS
Penn State was named the top 2020 recruiting class by Inside Lacrosse, including six members among the IL Power 100 and four among the Top 16.
Midfielder Kayla Abernathy was ranked as the No. 8 freshman in the country with Kristin O'Neill right behind at No. 9. Gretchen Gilmore and Kathryn Toohey were ranked 14th and 16th, respectively. Sammy Dupcak and Alaina Hamood were also included among the Power 100.
Gianna Cutaia, Cam Evitts and Cayden Jarvis round out the freshman class.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions are off next weekend and return to action on March 5 and 7 when they visit No. 5/3 Northwestern.
Freshman Olivia Dirks