UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 13 Penn State women's lacrosse team travels to New Jersey to take on No. 24 Rutgers on Thursday. First draw is scheduled for 3 p.m. at SHI Stadium with a broadcast on Big Ten Network+.
Penn State, led by Head Coach Missy Doherty, is 4-6 this season after earning a 16-9 win over No. 9 Maryland last Sunday. Kristin O'Neill led Penn State with a career-high six pints, including a career-best five goals. Mary Muldoon added five goals, while Lucy Lowe made 10 saves.
The Nittany Lions are ranked 13th in the IWLCA Poll and 17th in the Inside Lacrosse Poll this week.
Rutgers, coached by Melissa Lehman, is 3-7 this season. The Scarlet Knights are ranked 24th in the IWLCA Poll. Rutgers fell 17-10 at Johns Hopkins last Sunday.
Follow along with the Nittany Lions by watching on Big Ten Network+ or following our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewlax).
CHASING 200 WINS
Head Coach Missy Doherty is closing in on her 200th career win. She currently owns a 199-119 record in her 17th year of coaching. She has a 120-73 record in her 11th season as the head coach of the Nittany Lions.
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State is 21-0 all-time against Rutgers, dating back to 1978. The Nittany Lions captured a 20-11 victory in its 2021 season opener against Rutgers. Kristin O'Neill led PSU with four goals and two assists, while Maria Auth tallied four goals and one assist. Sophia Triandafils earned a hat trick. Eight Nittany Lions recorded two or more points.
MEET THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
Rutgers, led by Melissa Lehman, has a 3-7 record and is ranked 24th in the IWLCA Poll. The Scarlet Knights own wins this season over Johns Hopkins (13-10) and No. 19 Ohio State (12-9, 10-9).
On Sunday, Rutgers dropped a 17-10 decision at Johns Hopkins. Taralyn Naslonski recorded five points, including three goals. Ashley Campo added a goal and two assists. Eight Scarlet Knights scored at least one goal.
As a team, Rutgers ranks sixth in scoring offense (10.5 goals per game) and seventh in scoring defense, allowing 14.6 goals per contest.
Naslonski leads the team with 32 points, while Cassidy Spilis paces the team with 27 goals. Spillis also ranks 40th in the country with 1.6 caused turnovers per game, while Meghan Ball sits 48th with 1.5 caused turnovers per contest. Alonna Gliksman averages 5.7 saves per game.
O'NEILL B1G FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK, AGAIN
On Tuesday, Kristin O'Neill was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the sixth time this season. She's won six of the eight awards given out this season.
O'Neill tallied six goals and an assist in games against Johns Hopkins and Maryland last week.
She posted a career-high six points, including a career-best five goals, to lead PSU to a 16-9 win over No. 9 Maryland. O'Neill had three goals and an assist in the first half and two goals in a 6-0 run early in the game.
On the season, O'Neill has eight multi-point games and leads PSU with 25 goals.
MOVIN' UP
With two points against Maryland, senior Maria Auth continued her climb up Penn State's all-time charts.
In 72 career games, Auth owns 213 points. She currently sits ninth all-time, moving past Steph Lazo (211; 2014-17). She is three points behind Laurie Gray (1981-84) for eighth.
Auth has 149 career goals, sitting 10th all-time, breaking a tie with Diane Whipple (148; 1987-90). Auth is one behind Maggie Dunphy (1983-86) for ninth.
With an assist on Sunday, Auth recorded the 64th of her career, tying Jen Johnson (1996-99) for 11th. Auth is four assists behind Lee Clough (68; 1986-89) for 10th all-time.
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.
Freshmen have combined for 69 goals of Penn State's 130 goals (53%). They have also combined for 37 of Penn State's 58 assists (64%) and 106 of 188 points (56%).
NITS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
A few Nittany Lions are among the national stat leaders.
As a team, Penn State are second in the Big Ten in scoring offense (13.0 goals per game) and sixth in scoring defense (13.7 goals per game).
Kara Nealon sits 31st in the country in total assists (18) and 42nd in assists per game (1.8). Olivia Dirks holds 27th in draw controls per game (5.8) and 40th in caused turnovers per contest (1.6).
Kristin O'Neill ranks 11th in the nation, and second in the Big Ten, with a .700 free-position percentage.
Among Division I freshmen, O'Neill is tied for sixth in total points (31) and points per game (3.1). She's also tied for third in total goals (25) and tied fourth in goals per game (2.5).
Taylor Suplee holds 13th in the country in saves per game, averaging 10.2, and 25th in total saves (92). She's also 13th in ground balls per game (3.33).
NEXT TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions conclude their regular season on Sunday against Johns Hopkins. First draw is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Big Ten Network+.
