UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 13 Penn State women's lacrosse team returns to Panzer Stadium for its final contest of the regular season on Sunday against No. 20 Johns Hopkins. First draw is scheduled for 1 p.m. with broadcast on Big Ten Network+ with Kyle Cannillo (play-by-play) and Jon Draeger (color analyst) on the call.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Missy Doherty, is 4-7 this season after a tough 17-16 setback at No. 24 Rutgers on Thursday. Maria Auth led PSU with a career-high seven goals. Olivia Dirks recorded a career-best nine points, including five goals and four assists, both career marks. Dirks also won 10 draw controls.
The Nittany Lions are ranked 13th in the IWLCA Poll and 17th in the Inside Lacrosse Poll this week.
Johns Hopkins, coached by Janine Tucker, is 4-5 after falling 9-8 in a close battle against No. 11 Maryland. The Blue Jays are ranked 20th in the IWLCA Poll.
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 199-120 record in her 17th year of coaching. She has a 120-74 record in her 11th season as the head coach of the Nittany Lions.
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State leads 16-6 in the all-time series against Johns Hopkins. On Wednesday, April 7, Penn State dropped a 13-10 decision. Seven Nittany Lions scored at least one goal, led by Maria Auth's hat trick. Olivia Dirks added two goals.
MEET THE BLUE JAYS
Johns Hopkins, led by Janine Tucker, has a 4-5 record and is ranked 20th in the IWLCA Poll. The Blue Jays own two wins over Ohio State (12-11, 10-9) and one each over Penn State (13-10) and Rutgers (17-10).
On Wednesday, Hopkins fell 9-8 in a tight battle against No. 11 Maryland. Aurora Cordingley scored four goals to lead the offensive attack. Mackenzie Heldberg added a goal and two assists. Kathleen Garvey made seven saves.
Johns Hopkins ranks sixth in the Big Ten in scoring offense (10.56 goals per game) and second in scoring defense (11.78).
Cordingley paces the team with 37 points and 28 goals. She's 49th in the country in points per game (4.11) and 44th in goals per game (3.11).
Trinity McPherson ranks 13th in the nation in caused turnovers per game (2.22), while Annika Meyer is 25th (1.89). Meyer is also 17th in ground balls per game (3.11).
Garvey is third in the Big Ten averaging 8.67 saves per contest.
MOVIN' UP
With a career-high seven goals at Rutgers, senior Maria Auth continued her climb up Penn State's all-time charts.
In 73 career games, Auth owns 220 points. She currently sits seventh all-time, moving past Laurie Gray (216; 1981-84) and Madison Carter (218; 2016-20) into seventh. Auth is now seven points behind Katie O'Donnell (2015-18) for sixth all-time.
Auth has 156 career goals, sitting in a tie for sixth at Penn State with Madison Cyr (2013-16). Auth moved past Maggie Dunphy (150; 1983-86), Laurie Gray (153; 1983-86) and Sharon Duffey (154; 1975-78).
Auth also has 64 assists, 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 76 goals of Penn State's 146 goals (52%). They have also combined for 44 of Penn State's 65 assists (68%) and 120 of 211 points (57%).
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 (13.27 goals per game) and sixth in scoring defense (14.0 goals per game).
Maria Auth ranks 37th in the country in goals (30), while Kara Nealon sits 35th in assists (18). Olivia Dirks holds 21st in draw controls per game (6.18) and 46th in caused turnovers per contest (1.55).
Kristin O'Neill ranks 20th in the nation, and second in the Big Ten, with a .667 free-position percentage.
Among Division I freshmen, O'Neill ranks sixth in total points (31), eighth in points per game (3.0), tied fifth in total goals (25) and tied sixth in goals per game (2.36).
Taylor Suplee holds 27th in the country in saves per game, averaging 9.2, and 26th in total saves (92). She's also 19th in ground balls per game (3.00).
NEXT TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions are set to host the Big Ten Tournament, starting on Thursday, April 29. The tournament will feature three quarterfinal games on Thursday, April 29, two semifinal games on Friday, April 30, and the Big Ten Championship game on Sunday, May 2.
