UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 7 Penn State women's lacrosse team hosts No. 13 Michigan this weekend for a two-game series. The Nittany Lions battle the Wolverines on Friday at 4 p.m. on Big Ten Network+. On Sunday, Penn State takes on Michigan at 10 a.m. on ESPNU with Leah Secondo and Dana Boyle on the call.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Missy Doherty, are 2-2 this season and look to bounce back after two tough losses at No. 3 Northwestern last weekend. Penn State is ranked No. 7 in both the IWLCA and Inside Lacrosse Polls.
Michigan, coached by Hannah Nielsen, is 2-3 this season after sweeping Rutgers on March 5 and 7. The Wolverines are ranked 13th in the IWLCA Poll.
Follow along with the team by watching on ESPNU, Big Ten Network+ or following our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewlax).
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State leads 4-2 in the all-time series. The teams last met on March 16, 2019 when the Nittany Lions fell 12-9. Quinn Nicolai led Penn State with a career-high seven points, including five goals. Taylor Suplee made 14 saves.
MEET THE WOLVERINES
Michigan, led by Hannah Nielsen, is 2-3 this season. The Wolverines swept No. 14 Rutgers two weekends ago with 12-11 and 12-9 victories.
In game one against Rutgers, attacker Cailtin Muir tallied four points, including three goals. Midfielder Molly Garrett added four goals and Maggie Kane scored twice.
In game two, Muir recorded two goals and five assists. Carolina Davis and Nadine Stewart each scored three times.
Michigan sits fourth in the Big Ten in both scoring offense (11.6 goals per game) and scoring defense (12.8).
Muir leads the Wolverines with 21 points. She ranks 15th in the nation with 11 assists and 19th averaging 2.2 assists per contest. Garrett, Muir and Stewart are tied for the team lead with 10 goals each. In goal, Arielle Weissman averages 5.4 saves per game.
NATIONAL TV NITS
Penn State will have three games televised on national broadcasts this season.
The Nittany Lions' contest against Michigan on Sunday will be broadcast on ESPNU at 10 a.m.
The blue and white will again appear on "the U" for its Wednesday, April 7 game at Johns Hopkins, beginning at 4 p.m.
Penn State's contest against Ohio State on Friday, March 26 will be broadcast on Big Ten Network at noon.
All six games of the Big Ten Tournament, hosted by Penn State, will be shown on Big Ten Network.
DIRKS EARNS BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARD
Olivia Dirks was tabbed Big Ten Midfielder of the Week on Tuesday after collecting a goal, an assist and an incredible 24 draw controls at Northwestern.
Last Friday, Dirks assisted on a goal by Kara Nealon in the second half. She also picked up a ground ball and won 10 draw controls.
On Saturday, the Pennsylvania native recorded a goal in the second half, cutting to the middle to finish after a dish from Maria Auth. The second-year freshman also caused a turnover and won a career-high 14 draw controls. Dirks helped Penn State to win 20-of-32 draw controls, including 12-of-17 in the second half.
NITS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
A few Nittany Lions are among the national stat leaders.
As a team, Penn State ranks 10th in the nation in scoring offense (15.25 goals per game) and draw controls (15.75 per game). PSU sits 12th in assists per game (7.0) and 15th in shots on goal per game (24.75).
Kara Nealon holds 23rd in the nation in points per game, averaging 4.75. She's also eighth in the country and leads the Big Ten in assists per game (2.75). Nealon ranks 15th in total assists (11).
Olivia Dirks ranks third in the country and leads the Big Ten averaging 9.25 draw controls per contest. She's also 26th in the nation in caused turnovers per game (2.0).
Maria Auth holds 28th in the country in free-position goals per game (1.0).
Taylor Suplee sits 11th in the country in saves per game (11.25) and 33rd in total saves (45). She also ranks 11th in ground balls per game (3.75).
Kristin O'Neill ranks third among Division I freshman in points per game (3.5) and leads all Power 5 conference freshmen.
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. True freshmen Cam Evitts and Gretchen Gilmore also made their first career starts against Northwestern. Alaina Hamood has also seen playing time as a true freshman.
So far, freshmen have combined for 36 goals, 59 percent of Penn State's team total (61). They have also combined for 21 of Penn State's 28 assists (75%) and 57 of 89 points (64%).
NEXT TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions return to action on March 26 and 28 when they travel to Ohio State. The first game will be on Friday, March 26 with a noon broadcast on Big Ten Network. Sunday's game will start at noon on Big Ten Network+.
