UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Halfway through their four-game road trip, the Penn State women's lacrosse team makes a stop in Ithaca, New York to face Cornell on Saturday, Feb. 26. First draw is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The Nittany Lions are 1-1, most recently defeating Duquesne 18-4 on Wednesday. Cornell is 2-0 on the young season having beat Villanova and Binghampton.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Saturday, February 26 | 1:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch
SERIES HISTORY
• Penn State leads 12-3 in the all-time series and has won the last four match-ups.
• The teams first played at Cornell in 1968.
• Penn State won 19-9 in their most recent meeting in 2020. Mary Muldoon scored one goal, Meghan Murray had one goal and three draw controls while Kate Love tallied one caused turnover and one draw control.
• The Nittany Lions have outscored the Big Red 169-103.
• PSU's largest margin of victory was a 21-1 home win on April 19, 1974.
• In Cornell's three wins over PSU, The Big Red have never won by more than three points.
SCOUTING THE BIG RED
• Duquesne is 2-0 with road wins at Villanova (14-9) and Binghampton (18-4).
• Saturday's game will be Cornell's first home game in nearly two years.
• Sophomore Maggie Pons and junior Sophie Ward have combined for 15 points, but 13 different players have recorded at least one point.
• Graduate captain Katie McGahan is 2-0 as the starting goalie and has recorded nine saves in each game.
• The Cornell defense has allowed 13 goals this season, while the offense is averaging 16 goals during its 2-0 start.
PSU STATISTICAL RANKINGS
• As a team, PSU is tied 10th in the nation with a .935 clearing percentage.
• As a team the Nittany Lions are 18th in Division I in draw control percentage (.596).
• Penn State is averaging 6.5 assists per game, good for 24th most in the nation.
• Sophomore Kayla Abernathy is 21st in the nation with 6.5 draw controls per game.
• Junior Kara Nealon is tied for 17th in the nation, averaging 2.5 assists per contest.
Additional Notes
• Senior Mary Muldoon, Sophomore Kristin O'Neill and freshman Brooke Hoss lead the Lions in scoring with four goals each.
• Junior Kara Nealon has a team best five assists this season. She is tied with Muldoon with five points.
• Freshmen Brooke Hoss, Lauren Saltz and Molly O'Keefe and sophomore Alaina Hamood scored their first collegiate goals at Duquesne.
• PSU is on the road for their first four games before hosting James Madison on March 9.
• Senior Mary Muldoon and junior Rachel Spilker were elected captains for the 2022 season.
• Grad transfer Taylor Regan and sophomores Sammy Dupcak and Kristin O'Neill were named Big Ten Players to Watch.
• 2021's Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Kristin O'Neill, was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List.
• Head Coach Missy Doherty is in her 12th season leading the Nittany Lions.
• Doherty notched her 200th career victory following the Lions' Feb. 23 win at Duquesne.
UP NEXT
• Penn State finishes its four-game road trip with Loyola (Md.) on Sat. March 5.
• Cornell begins Ivy play when it visits No. 11 Princeton on Sat. March 5.
