UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's lacrosse took down No. 21 James Madison 14-10 in their home opener on Wednesday afternoon in Holuba Hall.
After a back-and-forth start, Penn State used speed and control to go on an eight-goal run mid-way through the game for an 11-5 lead in the third quarter. JMU would attempt to comeback, scoring five straight goals to come within a point, but the Nittany Lions held tough to score three more and keep the game out of reach for the victory.
PSU is now 3-2, and JMU is 3-3 on the young season.
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
- Sophomore Kristin O'Neill led all scorers with four goals, two on free position shots. She also accounted for two caused turnovers, two draw controls, one assist and one ground ball.
- Senior Mary Muldoon and graduate student Taylor Regan scored hat tricks in the win.
- Junior Kara Nealon tallied three assists for her fourth multi-assist game this season.
- Sophomore Sammy Dupcak led all players with ten of Penn State's 14 draw controls. She picked up a team-best four ground balls.
- Sophomore Kayla Abernathy was great all-around, accounting for three ground balls, two draw controls, two assists and one caused turnover.
- Freshman goalkeeper Ashley Bowan earned her first win as she played all 60 minutes with five saves.
- The Nittany Lions caused a season best 11 turnovers. The Dukes committed 20 total turnovers while PSU had 13 comparatively.
- PSU out-shot the Dukes 31 to 18 and with shots on goal 20 to 15.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – PSU 2, JMU 2
Muldoon scored back-to-back goals to get the Nittany Lions started vs the nationally-ranked Dukes. Her goals were scored less than a minute apart. JMU would return with two of their own to even the game at two-all.
Second Quarter – PSU 6, JMU 5
The Dukes scored just over 30 seconds into the period for their first lead of the game. Freshman Brooke Hoss tied it again with an assist from Regan Nealon, but JMU's Isabella Peterson made back-to-back shots to put her squad up 5-3. PSU made an adjustment and scored three-straight with under 1:21 left to put the Nittany Lions up 6-5 at the half.
Third Quarter – PSU 11, JMU 8
PSU extended their run from the second quarter to score eight unanswered goals for their largest lead, 11-5. JMU's Tai Jankowski got hot for three of her own to end the quarter with her squad down 11-8.
Fourth Quarter – PSU 14, JMU 10
JMU scored two more on a run of five unanswered goals to come within a point of the Nittany Lions. But O'Neill and the Lions would stifle the Dukes' comeback attempt as O'Neill scored back-to-back goals unassisted. With 2:32 remaining, Muldoon got her second hat trick of the year as PSU cruised ahead for the 14-10 victory.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions remain at home for their next game with Saint Joseph's scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 12.