UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's lacrosse rolled to a 17-8 victory over Saint Joseph's in the teams' first historical meeting on Saturday in Holuba Hall.
After giving up the first goal of the game, Penn State would score fourteen unanswered goals stretching all the way to the third period in their rout of the Hawks.
It is the second win in a row for the Nittany Lions in their home opening week, which also saw them defeat No. 21 James Madison 14-10 on Wednesday.
PSU is now 4-2 on the season while SJU falls to 3-4 overall.
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
- Three Nittany Lions scored a hat trick in senior Mary Muldoon, sophomore Kristin O'Neill and graduate student Taylor Regan.
- With two assists each were O'Neill, and juniors Kara Nealon and Regan Nealon.
- O'Neill and freshman Lauren Saltz led with three won draw controls apiece.
- Freshman starting goalie Ashley Bowan allowed just one goal in thirty minutes of play while making three saves.
- Sophomore Cayden Jarvis took over between the pipes in the second half to record three saves herself.
- Penn State was a perfect 17-for-17 on clears.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – PSU 7, SJU 1
SJU scored the first goal of the game over a minute in but would not score again until the third period. Muldoon would net her third hat trick of the season with three goals all in the first quarter alone.
Second Quarter – PSU 13, SJU 1
O'Neill would score back-to-back goals to start the period in a quarter that saw six Nittany Lion goals. The PSU defense would stifle the Hawks, allowing no goals during the quarter.
Third Quarter – PSU 15, SJU 2
Regan capped off a 14-goal run for Penn State. SJU saw their first score since the first minutes of the game. Nittany Lion season assists leader, Kara Nealon scored her first goal of the season for PSU with an assist from her sister Regan Nealon.
Fourth Quarter – PSU 17, SJU 8
The Hawks found the net six times during the final period of the game. Kara Nealon scored her second goal of the game and season while Taylor Regan earned a hat trick with the final goal of the game.
POST-GAME REACTIONS
Head Coach Missy Doherty
"We shot well, which is something we have been working on. We went 7-for-10 in the first period, which is great. 6-for-12 in the second. I think we came out playing our game, and that was why we had that hot start."
Junior Kara Nealon
"We knew coming in that St. Joe's is a very good team. They beat Navy about a week or two ago, so we knew that we're going to have to play well. I think in the first and second quarter, we just did our job with everybody finishing on attack and doing their job on defense, too."
UP NEXT
Penn State hits the road to take on Towson on Tuesday, March 15.