TOWSON, Md. – Penn State women's lacrosse used a convincing second half to defeat Towson 15-6 on the road on Tuesday afternoon.
After a back-and-forth first half, Penn State came out of the break firing on all cylinders, outscoring the Tigers 10-2 and winning more draw controls in the final half. The Nittany Lions capped the game with eight unanswered goals until the buzzer.
It is the third win in a row for the Nittany Lions who are now 5-2 on the season while TU falls to 2-4 overall.
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
- Three Nittany Lions scored a hat trick in senior Mary Muldoon, sophomore Gretchen Gilmore and freshman Brooke Hoss.
- All six Nittany Lions who scored had multiple goals.
- Sophomore Kristin O'Neill led PSU with four points, off two goals and two assists.
- Junior Kara Nealon had a team-best three assists.
- Senior Kate Love picked up a career high five ground balls. She beat her previous best of three ground balls she last set at Towson in 2020. She also matched her career best three caused turnovers she acheived first vs. Lehigh in 2020.
- Freshman goalie Ashley Bowan notched a season-best ten saves. Her previous best was seven saves at Cornell last month.
- Sophomore Kayla Abernathy won a team best eight draw controls of PSU's 11 total.
- TU had just three saves all game, which they captured in the fourth quarter alone.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – PSU 2, TU 3
Penn State started off with back-to-back scores from Hoss and Muldoon both assisted by Kara Nealon. TU would win the next three draw controls and score on each with the same player, freshman Halley Koras.
Second Quarter – PSU 5, SJU 4
Despite not winning a draw control in the period, the Nittany Lions entered the break with a one goal lead by taking advantage of Tiger turnovers. O'Neill scored after a missed free position attempt by TU. The Tigers responded with a goal of their own, their first by a player other than Koras. Off a TU turnover, Regan scored to tie it at four. Just over a minute later, Meghan Murray caused a turnover and picked up the ground ball delivering it to the PSU offense who scored in transition, Gilmore from O'Neill.
Third Quarter – PSU 9, TU 6
After losing the draw control battle eight to three in the first half, the Lions made an adjustment and began setting the pace. Both sides scored a pair of goals to start the frame, but with less than two minutes remaining in the period, PSU scored another back-to-back for their largest lead of three heading into the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter – PSU 15, TU 6
The Nittany Lions did not let off the gas as they cruised on an eight-goal run and shutout the quarter to close out the game.
UP NEXT
Penn State returns home to host Princeton at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 19.