UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 21 Penn State Nittany Lions (9-2, 1-1 Big Ten) head down to College Park, Md. this weekend to face the No. 3 Maryland Terrapins (11-0, 3-0 Big Ten) on Sunday, March 29th at 12 p.m. at SECU Stadium.
As of March 26th, the Penn State offense ranks inside the top-20 nationally in assists per game (10th), points per game (10th), scoring offense (13th) and shot percentage (eighth). The Nittany Lions are also ranked top-four offensively in the Big Ten in assists per game (fourth), free position percentage (second), points per game (third), scoring offense (second) and shot percentage (second). The Blue and White have the Big Ten’s second-ranked scoring defense and are also the second-best team in the conference in picking up ground balls, second in save percentage and have caused the fourth-most turnovers per game in the Big Ten.
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State fell to the No. 6 Michigan Wolverines, 6-11. Kelly MacKinney and Delaney Radin led the Nittany Lions with three points each off two goals and four combined assists. Payton Wainman, Emma Kelly and Hannah Hoyt all added goals during the Senior Day game. Susannah O’Connell tied her career-high with three ground balls and Sydney Manning posted her fourth effort this season with double-digit saves, her second in a row.
THE CAGE REPORT
Manning has been on a tear recently as the Nittany Lions’ primary goalkeeper, recently surpassing 300 career saves after her performance against No. 6 Michigan. Last time out against No. 6 Michigan, Manning registered 11 saves and against No. 19 Princeton, she notched a career-high 15 saves. The 15 saves she recorded is tied for the fourth-most in the Big Ten this season and the most by any Nittany Lion since Ashley Bowan’s performance against Johns Hopkins in 2023.
As of March 26th, Manning checks in with the ninth-best save percentage in the country, second in the Big Ten. The junior Big Ten Player to Watch is second in the Big Ten in goals allowed per game and just outside the top-20 nationally while being ranked third and fourth in the conference in total saves and saves per game, respectively.
THE ASSIST QUEENS
In the most recent Tewaaraton Watch List additions, Delaney Radin was one of 13 players nationally to be named to the prestigious award’s watch list, joining Erika Ho as the only other Penn State player on the list. In her electric start to the 2026 season, Radin has already set new single-season career-high for goals, assists, points, shots, shots on goal, free position shots and free position goals that she’s had in a single-season. Her 35 assists on the year have more than doubled her career assist total and her career point total with 50 points this season. The New York attacker has the most assists in the Big Ten, the eighth-most in Division I, and the fifth-most points by any Big Ten player and 18th-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. Radin had a historic game dishing out the ball against Colgate. The junior attacker led the offensive effort with an astounding nine points and tied the program record with eight assists, a record originally set by Marsha Florio against Princeton in 1985. Her eight assists tied the NCAA single-game-high this season with Allison Reilly of Army West Point and Alexis Morton of Richmond. Radin has the two-highest single-game assist totals in the Big Ten this season alongside the first game of the year against Richmond, in which she had six assists.
MacKinney has followed closely behind the Florida transfer and had a more balanced approach to her success this season with 47% of her 47 points, the second-most by any Nittany Lion, coming from goals while also setting 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 25 assists are top-20 nationally, and the fourth-most in the Big Ten. In addition to setting a new single-season-high for herself in goals, MacKinney has set new personal single-game highs in goals, points and free position goals. Twice this season, against Colgate and in the team’s Big Ten opener at Southern California, MacKinney has tallied four goals and four assists in a single game. The New Jersey attacker has the eighth-most assists in Penn State history with 87 and recently joined the 100-point club against Bucknell.
The combination of Radin and MacKinney have been one of the best duos in the nation. Through 11 games, the duo has combined for 60 assists and 97 points, the most assists by any pairing in the country and one of the highest point totals, along with 37 goals.
THE FRESHMAN PHENOM
The Big Ten Conference office announced on March 10th that Rocquette Allen earned her third consecutive Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor.
Allen is the first three consecutive week winner of the award since Tewaaraton Finalist Madison Taylor. The freshman was also the first back-to-back recipient of the Big Ten Freshman of the Week Award since Northwestern’s Madison Smith during the 2024 season. Her consecutive honors were 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.
Allen was the first Penn State women’s lacrosse player this season to earn a Big Ten Weekly Award and the first freshman to earn the award since Brooke Long was selected in April of last yearThe Mountain Vista product is currently second on the Nittany Lions with 25 goals on the year, the 10th-most in the Big Ten this year.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The No. 3 Maryland Terrapins enter Sunday’s competition after defeating No. 7 Johns Hopkins on Thursday to keep the team’s undefeated start to the season intact. The Terrapin offense is led by Lauren LaPointe, Kristen Shanahan, Kori Edmondson and Keely Block who all have at least 20 goals and, with Jordyn Lipkin, above 20 points. Neve O’Ferrall has a team-high 11 caused turnovers and 16 ground balls while Gilmore leads Maryland with 71 draw controls. In the cage, 2026 Tewaaraton Watch List member JJ Suriano has 116 saves on the year with a nation-leading 54.7% save mark while only giving up 8.94 goals on average on 319 shots faced. Maryland is helmed by legendary head coach Cathy Reese alongside associate head coach Lauri Kenis and assistant coaches Alex Aust Holman and Nadine Hadnagy.
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.