PRINCETON, N.J. – Though the first 20 minutes of game clock were back-and-forth in the pouring rain, No. 12 Princeton held Penn State women’s lacrosse to two separate scoring droughts of more than 14 minutes, helping the Tigers to a 16-7 win over the Nittany Lions at Sherrerd Field at Class of 1952 Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Penn State falls to 2-5 on the season with the loss, while Princeton improves to 4-1.
Senior Brooke Hoss and junior Emma Kelly lead the PSU scoring with two goals apiece. Payton Wainman also dished to assists to match the leading scorers in points. Senior Lauren Saltz, junior Erika Ho, and freshman Ellie Wisch all tallied on goal on the game. Kelly and junior Lauren Tinson each recorded a pair of caused turnovers.
Princeton’s Jami MacDonald led both team with six points on two goals and four assists. Meg Morrisroe put away five goals to lead all scorers, while McKenzie Blake posted a hat trick for the Tigers. Colette Quinn and Sophie Whiteway each tallied two goals, and Maggie Molnar wrapped up Princeton’s multi-point scorers with a goal and an assist. Whiteway was strong on the Tiger’s ride, causing three turnovers, two of which came on the PSU clear. Princeton netminder Amelia Hughes posted 8 saves in the contest for a .533 save percentage.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Quarter 1 – Penn State 2, Princeton 4
Emma Kelly opened the scoring with a goal at 11:28 after the Nittany Lions withstood an onslaught from the Princeton attack for nearly three minutes.
The Tigers had the answer with 9:26 remaining in the quarter to knot things up before striking again less than a minute later.
After a break for deliberation on a call against PSU on the Nittany Lions next attacking possession, the ball was awarded back to Penn State, leading to a free position chance for Lauren Saltz with a look directly on cage. She buried the chance to take knot the game at two with 7:10 to go, but Princeton used the remainder of the quarter to tack on two more scores and retake the lead.
Quarter 2 – Penn State 4, Princeton 8
Ellie Wisch started the second quarter with a goal off a feed from Payton Wainman just 26 seconds into the quarter, but a Princeton response came 40 seconds later at 13:54 to maintain the Tigers’ lead.
Brooke Hoss found her first of the day on Wainman’s second assist to make it a one-score game with 10:27 left in the quarter, but the Tigers tacked on three more scores to extend the lead to four before halftime.
Quarter 3 – Penn State 6, Princeton 13
Princeton grabbed the first tally of the third quarter while a Nittany Lion scoring drought dating back to the goal by Hoss in the second quarter finally expired when the senior put away her second score of the day to cut Princeton’s lead to four.
The Tigers went on a 4-1 run to close the third with a 13-6 edge.
Quarter 4 – Penn State 7, Princeton 16
The home team scored thrice more in the fourth to start a running clock with 2:07 to play before a score by Emma Kelly on a woman-up free position attempt kept Princeton from a double-digit win.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
- Tinson’s caused turnovers (2) are a new career-high for the junior.
- Kelly matched her career-high draw control tally with three. She last secured three draws at Duquesne in the 2023 season.
UP NEXT
Penn State gets over a full week off before it’s next contest when the team hosts Maryland on Thursday, March 13 at Panzer Stadium. First draw is set for 1 p.m. on B1G+.