UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 14 Penn State women's lacrosse will round out its regular season at No. 22 Johns Hopkins in a battle between the third and fourth ranked teams in the Big Ten. The game is set for noon at Homewood Field in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Nittany Lions are 14th in the country and third in the Big Ten this week while the Blue Jays are 22nd and fourth.
Penn State looks for back-to-back top-25 victories and its fourth ranked win this season in Saturday's contest.
GAME INFORMATION
at No. 22 Johns Hopkins
- Date: Saturday, April 22, 2023 | Time: noon ET
- Location: Baltimore, Md. | Venue: Homewood Field
- Live Stats | Watch | Notes
- Admission: Free
LAST TIME OUT
- Penn State upset No. 10 Maryland 12-7 at Panzer Stadium on Thursday, April 13. The Nittany Lions held the Terps to its lowest goal total since 1997 while snapping their nine-game winning streak they began in early March. They also handed them their first Big Ten loss since 2021.
- This marked Penn State's third victory over Maryland in the last four games in the series after losing 16 consecutive contests.
- This was the Nittany Lions' first top-10 win since they defeated Maryland in 2021.
- O'Neill bumped her scoring streak to 19-conseuctive games.
- Haley Urgo had a career high five caused turnovers and scooped three ground balls to lead the defense to stop a strong Maryland offense.
- Freshman Emma Kelly scored her second hat trick of the year with her four goal performance.
- Meghan Murray also picked up a hat trick, her fourth of the season.
- Brooke Hoss posted her fourth three-goal performance of the year.
NITTANY LIONS IN THE RANKS
- Penn State ranks first in the Big Ten and eighth in the country in caused turnovers (161) as well as first in conference and ninth nationally in ground balls (269).
- Sammy Dupcak ranks 14th nationally in ground balls (42) and is tied for first in the conference. She is also third in the Big Ten and 25th nationally in caused turnovers (26). Ellie Hollin is sixth in the Big Ten with 22.
- Kristin O'Neill is third in the country in shots per game (8.53) and 25th nationally in goals (44).
PENN STATE –JOHNS HOPKINS SERIES
- The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series 16-9 against the Blue Jays but Hopkins has claimed the recent four games dating back to 2021.
- The most recent meeting in 2022 ended in a 10-5 victory for Johns Hopkins at Panzer Stadium.
- Penn State is 8-2 in games played in Baltimore.
- The two teams have faced one another five times in the postseason.
- The biggest goal deficit is seven goals. Penn State owns an 11-4 win and Hopkins owns a 17-10 win.
SCOUTING THE BLUE JAYS
- Johns Hopkins has won its last two games including a win over No. 13 Michigan and an overtime comeback win against Towson this week. The Blue Jays are 7-7, 3-2 Big Ten this season and seeking a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
- Freshman Ava Angello was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week this week after her four goals an one assist in a 14-7 upset over No. 13 Michigan.
- The Blue Jays entered their first week in the top-25 after a 12-11 win over No. 25 Rutgers on April 1.
NITTANY LIONS TO WATCH
- Haley Urgo was named the IL/IWLCA and Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week (4/18) after her five caused turnovers and three ground balls in a 12-7 win over No. 10 Maryland.
- O'Neill and Dupcak were named ILWomen Midseason All-American Honorable Mentions. This is O'Neill's second year receiving the distinction.
- Sophomore defender Ellie Hollin was named the IL/IWLCA and Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week after leading the defense to a first half shut out in a 13-3 win over Ohio State (3/25).
- Junior Gilmore was named the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week and IL/IWLCA Co-Offensive Player of the Week this week (3/21) after her 10-goal performance last week. She posted four goals in a 13-12 win over Towson and six goals in a 16-14 win at No. 14 Princeton.
- Junior co-captain O'Neill was named to the 2023 Tewaaraton Award Preseason Watch List.
2023 CAPTAINS
- Head coach Missy Doherty named seniors Rachel Spilker and Regan Nealon and junior Kristin O'Neill as captains for the 2023 season.
- This is Spilker's second season as a co-captain for the Nittany Lions.