UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women’s lacrosse takes on No. 3 Northwestern in the first of three games on the road across the next three weeks.
First draw between Penn State and the Wildcats is set for 2 p.m. (ET) at Ryan Fieldhouse.
Game Info
Who: Penn State at No. 3 Northwestern
What: First B1G Road Game
Where: Evanston, Ill. – Ryan Fieldhouse
When: Sunday, March 16 at 2 p.m. (ET)
Nittany Lions vs. Northwestern
Northwestern holds a large 28-10 all-time record over Penn State in a series that dates back to 1984. Though the edge in the series favors the Wildcats, Penn State split last season’s meetings, besting Northwestern in the regular season, 14-13 and dropping a two-goal decision in the Big Ten Championship.
Similar to the series against Maryland, this is just the second meeting since both teams joined the Big Ten (2015) where one of the two has not been ranked in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association poll. The other time came in the 2022 season where No. 3 Northwestern took a 17-6 win.
Scouting the Wildcats
Northwestern enters its first Big Ten game of the season with a 6-1 record, losing only to No. 1 Boston College in the team’s third game of the year. The Wildcats have secured two top 15 wins already this season, besting No. 11 Notre Dame (13-10) and No. 6 Syracuse (12-8).
No one in the nations is better at the draw than Northwestern. The Wildcats win 69.3 percent of their pulls, over two percent more effective than second-ranked Yale. Only Brown wins as many draws per game as the ‘Cats, with both teams averaging 19 wins per game.
In addition to the prowess at the draw, Northwestern ranks top-10 nationally in scoring offense (16.86), scoring defense (7.57), scoring margin (9.29), points per game (24.86), assists per game (8.00), shots per game (35.86), and shots on goal per game (26.86).
Last Time Out
Penn State held a 4-3 advantage over Maryland at the end of the first quarter, and the Nittany Lions built their lead out to 7-3 in the second quarter before the Terrapins found their footing, exploding out to a 13-1 run from the 7:59 mark in the second quarter through the end of the third quarter to ensure a Maryland victory.
Brooke Hoss led the Nittany Lions in scoring with a hat-trick while also adding one assist. The trio of Erika Ho, Ellie Wisch, and Lauren Saltz put up two goals apiece. Ho also won three draw controls, caused two turnovers and scooped two ground balls while Saltz won two draws and collected one ground ball. Elise Smigiel and Emma Kelly tallied one goal each to round out the scoring. Kelly led the Blue and White in draw control wins with five on the afternoon.
Preseason Nods
In the Big Ten preseason poll, the Nittany Lions were picked to finish fifth.
Senior captain Ellie Hollin has been raking in the preseason recognitions. The defender has been named a consensus preseason first-team All-American and earned a spot on the Tewaaraton watch list.
Hollin also earned nod from the conference offices, being named a Big Ten Player to Watch. She joined sophomores Sydney Manning and Kelly MacKinney on the list.
Getting Younger
Where the Nittany Lions returned 29-of-33 players from 2023 to 2024 roster, the 2025 roster boasts 24 sophomores and freshmen by class eligibility.
Manning and MacKinney highlight the group after their breakout seasons in 2024.
MacKinney returns as the fourth-leading scorer from last year. The then-freshmen posted 39 points on 14 goals and 25 assists. The attacker ranked in top ten in the conference and led the team with her assist total and assist per game mark (1.32).
Manning was named the 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season. The then-freshman has started 16 games in her rookie campaign, making 100 saves. She also scooped up 24 ground balls. The netminder made 15 save in the upset victories over No. 1 Northwestern and No. 4 Maryland in 2024.
Fresh Faces
Penn State adds 12 freshmen to the 2024 roster: Dakota Cristo, Arden Jansen, Alexa Kairis, Brooke Lattanzi, Brooke Long, Allie Meyer, Meggie Rezza, Porter Rhoades, Ava Stummer, Victoria Tomonto, Grace Tullock, and Ellie Wisch.
In addition to the rookies, Penn State added transfers Lily Strohecker (Navy) and Delaney Radin (Florida).
On the Lookout
- Delaney Radin is eight points away from 25 on her career.
- Erika Ho needs four goals to tally 25 on the season. She is just two points shy of 25.
- Ellie Hollin is two caused turnovers away from 75 on her career.
- Kelly MacKinney is five assists away from 50 in her career.
- Sydney Manning is three saves away from 150 in her career.
Up Next
The Nittany Lions remain on the road next weekend to take on new conference foe Oregon in the teams’ first ever meeting on Sunday, March 23. First draw between the B1G foes is set for 4 p.m. at Pape Field on the Big Ten Network.