UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 14 Penn State women's lacrosse team earned a 16-9 win over No. 9 Maryland on Senior Day at Panzer Stadium. The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 7-1 lead and cruised to victory. Penn State improved to 4-6 overall, while Maryland dropped to 4-6. Penn State earned a season sweep over Maryland, including a 15-13 win earlier this year.
The Nittany Lions honored their 10 seniors before the game: Maria Auth, Kenzie Carroll, Sammy Helgeson, Kate Love, Lucy Lowe, Quinn Nicolai, Rachel Rosen, Alyssa Sloane, Sophia Triandafils and Emily Vengilio.
Penn State was paced by freshman Kristin O'Neill's six points, including five goals. Mary Muldoon tallied a career-high five goals. Olivia Dirks added two goals and three assists, while Sophia Triandafils contributed two goals and two assists. Maria Auth recorded a goal and an assist, while Quinn Nicolai scored one goal. Gretchen Gilmore and Rachel Rosen each had an assist. Lucy Lowe earned 10 saves.
Auth now has 213 career points, moving into sole possession of ninth all-time at Penn State. On the day, Auth broke a tie with Steph Lazo (211; 2014-17).
Auth also moved into sole possession of 10th on the all-time goals list with 149, breaking a tie with Diane Whipple (1987-90). Auth sits in a tie for 11th on the all-time assists chart with 64.
Maryland was led by Brindi Griffin's four points, including three goals. Hannah Leubecker and Libby May each scored twice. Catie May added a goal and an assists, while Julia Hoffman registered a goal. Emily Sterling made seven saves in 49 minutes.
The Nittany Lions got on the board first on a tally by Muldoon just 1:30 into the game, off an assist by Dirks. Maryland evened the score three minutes later on a goal by Catie May.
Penn State rattled off the next six goals. O'Neill put one home off a feed from Auth at the 23:44 mark. Three minutes later, Muldoon scored again, this time off an assist from Triandafils.
Triandafils tallied back-to-back goals to push the lead to 5-1 with 17:03 to go in the half. A score by O'Neill and a free-position goal by Dirks extended the advantage to 7-1 with 9:22 remaining in the period.
Maryland cut the deficit to 7-3 with back-to-back free-position goals by Griffin. The second took advantage of a man-up opportunity.
Penn State closed the half with goals by Nicolai, off an assist from O'Neill, and O'Neill, assisted by Dirks. The blue and white led 9-3 at the break.
O'Neill started the second half how she left off, with a free-position goal. That was answered by Maryland's Libby May to cut PSU's lead to 10-4 with 26:28 remaining.
Penn State responded with a free-position tally by Auth. Maryland answered with a goal by Leubecker to keep its deficit at six, 11-5.
The Nittany Lions then went on a 4-0 run, sparked by a Dirks goal at the 17:39 mark. O'Neill then put home a shot off an assist by Gilmore. The next two goals were recorded by Muldoon, taking advantage of assists by Dirks and Triandafils. Penn State led 15-5 with 11:09 remaining.
Maryland cut its deficit to seven with a 3-0 run. Hoffman and Libby May scored on free-position looks before Leubecker found the net.
Muldoon tallied her fifth goal of the day with 3:21 left, scoring off an assist by Rosen. Maryland's Griffin closed out the scoring with a free-position tally.
The Nittany Lions travel to Rutgers on Thursday for another Big Ten matchup. First draw is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Big Ten Network+. Penn State earned a 20-11 win over the Scarlet Knights in its season opener.
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewlax).
