UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 18 Penn State Nittany Lions (9-0, 1-0 Big Ten) head back home after a successful California road trip to host the No. 19 Princeton Tigers (2-3, 1-0 Ivy) on Sunday, March 15th at 12 p.m. in Holuba Hall.
Penn State joined Maryland and Loyola University Maryland to become the third team in collegiate women’s lacrosse history to secure 600 wins in program history. The 9-0 start by the Nittany Lions this season is the best start to a women’s lacrosse season since 1989 when Penn State started out 12-0. Head Coach Kayla Treanor’s undefeated start to the season is the best by any Penn State women’s lacrosse first year head coach since the 1986 season when Head Coach Susan Delaney-Scheetz started out 10-0.
As of March 12th, the Penn State offense ranks inside the top-20 nationally in assists per game (seventh), points per game (sixth), scoring offense (sixth) and shot percentage (fourth). The Nittany Lions are also ranked top-four offensively in the Big Ten in assists per game (second), free position percentage (first), points per game (second), scoring offense (second) and shot percentage (first). The Blue and White have the Big Ten’s top-ranked scoring defense and are the second-best team in the conference in picking up ground balls while having the third-highest save percentage and have caused the third-most turnovers in the Big Ten.
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State had a dominating performance in its Big Ten opener over the University of Southern California, 19-8. The offense was led by the trio of Delaney Radin, Kelly MacKinney and Payton Wainman. Radin, the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, netted her first career hat trick while dishing out five assists to tie for a game-high eight points. MacKinney was able to match Radin’s point total off four assists and tied a game-high four goals alongside Wainman. Erika Ho and Rocquette Allen were both able to add three points. The senior, Ho, having two goals and an assists and Allen, in her first taste of Big Ten competition, netted a goal and a pair of assists. Six other Nittany Lions scored a goal and 12 of Penn State’s 19 goals came off an assist.
Defensively, the Blue and White were led by seniors Lauren Tinson and Maggie Driver.
Tinson tied her career-highs with three ground balls and two caused turnovers, each the most that she’s ever had in Big Ten play. Driver tied her career-highs in caused turnovers with three and draw controls by winning a pair while also picking up a trio of ground balls. The 12 turnovers caused by the Penn State defense is the second-most recorded by the Nittany Lions this season. In the cage, Sydney Manning registered eight saves and collected a 50% save rate for the fifth time this season while scooping up a pair of ground balls.
Emma Kelly and the Penn State draw unit had another great game in the circle. Kelly’s eight draw controls won were a game-high and the 18 secured as a team is the third-highest mark by the Blue and White this season.
THE ASSIST QUEENS
Delaney Radin and Kelly MacKinney have been on a tear to start the pair’s junior campaigns. Through seven games, the duo has combined for 53 assists and 85 points, the most assists by any pairing in the country and one of the highest point totals, along with 32 goals.
In her electric start to the 2026 season, Radin has already set new career-highs for most goals, assists, points, shots, shots on goal, free position shots and free position goals that she’s had in a single-season. Her 31 assists on the year have more than doubled her previous combined total in 16 less games and has nearly doubled her combined point total with 45 points this season. As of March 12th, the New Yorker has the most assists in the Big Ten, the second-most in Division I. Radin has the most points by any Big Ten player, tied for fifth-most points in the NCAA.
For her efforts against Colgate and San Diego State, Radin earned her first Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honor, her first collegiate accolade.
MacKinney has followed closely behind the Florida transfer and had a more balanced approach to her success this season with 45% of her 40 points, the second-most by any Nittany Lion, coming from goals and set a new single-season high in goals for herself. Even though she’s been able to cash in more than in years past, MacKinney still remains a passing threat and sees the field extremely well. Her 22 assists are top-15 nationally, and the third-most in the Big Ten.
THE FRESHMAN PHENOM
The Big Ten Conference office announced on March 10th that Allen earned her third consecutive Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor. She is the first three consecutive week winner of the award since Tewaaraton Finalist Madison Taylor and was previously the first back-to-back recipient of the Big Ten Freshman of the Week Award since Northwestern’s Madison Smith during the 2024 season.
Allen’s consecutive honors was the first time Penn State had earned Big Ten weekly honors in consecutive weeks since April of 2024 when MacKinney was selected as Big Ten Freshman of the Week after Manning secured the award and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week prior.
In the two games against then-No. 20 Pitt and Drexel, with the primary defender on her, she totaled three goals, four assists and seven points. Allen scored twice against No. 20 Pitt, including the golden goal. Against Drexel, she dished out a game and career-high three assists and netted a goal to help snap a two-game losing streak against the Dragons.
Her hat trick proved to be the difference to keep the Nittany Lions undefeated in Penn State’s second ranked victory of the year over then-No. 25 Cornell, 11-9. At the time, freshman’s three goal effort was only the second time this year that the top-five scoring defense of the Big Red have given up three goals to a single player. Allen also dished out an assist, caused a turnover that led to the first Penn State goal of the day and picked up a ground ball in the win over Cornell.
Against San Diego State and Colgate, the reigning freshman of the week drew the toughest defensive assignments in both games and faced constant slides towards her. Despite that, Allen was still able to score a pair of goals in each game, shooting an efficient 80% between her two showings and still leads the Nittany Lions’ offense in goals scored. Along with her stellar shooting, the Colorado native also picked by two ground balls in both games, the fifth and sixth time she’s done so this season and caused a turnover that led to a Penn State goal against Colgate.
The Mountain Vista product is currently second on the Nittany Lions with 23 goals on the year, the fifth-most in the Big Ten this year and the most by Power Four conference freshman. Her 32 points are most by any freshman in the Big Ten, the seventh-best by any Big Ten player.
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