ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 17 Penn State Nittany Lions (6-0) secured the team’s second ranked victory of the season with a victory over the No. 25 Cornell Big Red (2-2) at Schoellkopf Field on Saturday afternoon, 11-9. The 6-0 start is the best start by a Penn State women’s lacrosse team since 2017 and the best start by a first year Penn State head coach since 1986.
Rocquette Allen led the goal scoring for the team. The freshman secured her third career hat trick, this time against a top-10 scoring defense in the country while adding an assist, a ground ball and a caused turnover. Delaney Radin had a game-high five points, one shy of her career-high, with four assists and a goal. Kelly MacKinney added with a goal and a pair of assists while Payton Wainman and Ellie Wisch each netted two goals. Defensively, Lilly Spilker had a team-high four ground balls and two caused turnovers with Emma Kelly, Lauren Tinson and Susannah O’Connell each adding two more. Spilker caused a pair of turnovers to lead the team and five other Nittany Lions added a caused turnover. At goal, Sydney Manning saved at a 52.6% clip with double-digit saves on the afternoon.
KEY PERFORMANCES
- Rocquette Allen – three goals, one assist, four points, one ground ball, one caused turnover
- Delaney Radin – one goal, four assists, five points, one ground ball
- Kelly MacKinney – one goal, two assists, three points, one ground ball
- Lilly Spilker – four ground balls, two caused turnovers
- Sydney Manning – 10 saves, 52.6% save rate
FIRST QUARTER
Both Cornell and Penn State had strong defensive efforts to start the contest, with the first four minutes going scoreless. Wainman was the first to break the stalemate netting the first goal of the day, unassisted, with Radin following not far behind with her first of the afternoon off an Allen assist. Less than two minutes later, Wainman scored again, this time off a pass from Radin, to push the Penn State advantage to three goals. Cornell would net the team’s first, but the Nittany Lions were able to answer quick with Allen scoring her second of the day with MacKinney dishing out the assist. MacKinney, the junior captain, would score Penn State’s fifth goal of the first frame with Radin on the assist, but the Big Red scored to close out the quarter.
SECOND QUARTER
Very similarly to the first, defense would reign supreme for the beginning of the second stanza, with both teams held scoreless for nearly the first four minutes. Despite the sluggish start, the Nittany Lions and Big Red traded blows throughout the quarter. Allen would be the one to start the scoring this time with Radin getting the assist before a quick answer by Cornell. Lizzie Anné secured her first goal of the contest off another assist by Radin before another quick answer by Cornell. Allen bookmarked the scoring for the second quarter, netting her third of the first half and recording the hat trick.
THIRD QUARTER
Defenses held strong to start the third quarter with the first goal coming nearly halfway through the frame. Ellie Wisch, thanks to a Kelly MacKinney pass, scored the opening goal for the Nittany Lions in the third quarter. Cornell scored on a man-up opportunity soon after, but Erika Ho would score off a ricochet from a Wainman shot to secure her second goal. The Big Red scored again with less than two minutes in the stanza, but Wisch netted her second of the quarter to close out the scoring in the third.
FOURTH QUARTER
The Big Red came out in a frenzy, scoring three goals during the first half of the quarter. The Nittany Lion defense was able to clamp down and force four turnovers to secure the Penn State victory, 11-9.
POSTGAME NOTES
- The 6-0 start is the best start by a Penn State women’s lacrosse team since 2017 and the best start by a first year Penn State head coach since 1986.
- Allen secured a hat trick for the third time in her career and has scored a goal in every game this season.
- Radin’s five points are the second-highest amount of points she’s recorded this season, one behind her performance against Richmond.
- Spilker’s four ground balls are a career-high
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions head back home to host the Colgate Raiders on Wednesday, March 4th at 12 p.m. for the team’s Pride game. The venue for Wednesday’s matinee will be announced first on Penn State Women’s Lacrosse social media channels.
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State Women's Lacrosse. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion women's lacrosse team on Facebook at /pennstatewomenslacrosse as well as Twitter and Instagram @PennStateWLAX.