Michael Molster enters his third season as an assistant coach on the Penn State Women's Lacrosse Staff in 2022. He joined the Nittany Lions' staff in June 2019 after spending seven seasons as an assistant coach at Towson, working with the defense and goalies.
Penn State went 4-9 in 2021, including three wins against Top 20 opponents. The Nittany Lions claimed victories over Rutgers (20-11), No. 7 Maryland (15-13), No. 13 Michigan (13-12) and No. 9 Maryland (16-9). The blue and white finished the season ranked No. 21 in the IWLCA Poll, after being ranked the entire season and rising as high as No. 5.
The Nittany Lions landed four All-Big Ten selections, including Olivia Dirks (First Team) and Maria Auth, Sammy Helgeson and Kristin O’Neill (Second Team). Helgeson was a key leader of the Penn State defense with 14 ground balls and nine caused turnovers.
Dirks was the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, Penn State’s second ever, leading the blue and white in draw controls (78) and caused turnovers (18). O’Neill was tabbed Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Penn State’s second to win the award, after recording 15 caused turnovers in her first season in Happy Valley.
Taylor Suplee ranked third in the Big Ten in saves per game (8.08) and save percentage (.408). She was also third in the conference in ground balls per game (2.83). Suplee had six games with 10 or more saves, including 14 saves in a win over Maryland on February 21. She also had 12 saves in a win against Rutgers (2/14) and 13 in a victory against Michigan (3/21). Suplee made 12 stops at Northwestern (3/13) and 10 in each game against Ohio State (3/26, 3/28). She was the IWLCA Defensive Player of the Week following the win over Maryland. She was also a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week selection.
In 2020, the Nittany Lions earned a 5-2 record in 2020 before the season was canceled on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Nittany Lions began the season with four straight wins, defeating Towson (12-9), Lehigh (13-9), Duquesne (20-6) and Cornell (19-9). Penn State finished the season with a 14-13 victory at Vanderbilt.
Penn State was very strong on the defensive end, ranking fourth in the country in save percentage (.531) and 23rd in the nation in caused turnovers per game with 10.0. The Nittany Lions allowed 12.0 goals per game, ranking fourth in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions' defense was led by sophomore goalie Taylor Suplee, who earned honorable-mention All-American honors from Inside Lacrosse. Suplee led the Big Ten and ranked second in the nation averaging 12.43 saves per game. She held fifth in the nation with 87 saves and seventh with a .527 save percentage. Suplee ranked fourth in the Big Ten with a 12.27 goals-against average. Against Cornell, Suplee made 20 saves, becoming the first PSU goalie to record 20 saves since Cammie Jurkowsky made 20 saves against North Carolina on April 6, 2007.
Junior Kate Love and freshman Olivia Dirks tied for the team lead with seven caused turnovers. Senior Kristin Roberto followed with six caused turnovers, while junior Sammy Helgeson caused five.
In his time with the Tigers, Molster's unit established itself as one of the top defenses in the country, helping Towson to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Towson ranked 10th in the country with 11.47 caused turnovers in 2019. From 2016-18, Towson was among the Top 10 nationally in both goals against average and caused turnovers. The Tigers held 10 teams to single-digit goals in 2018 and held 11 opponents to single-digit goals in 2017, allowing just 9.36 goals in 2017. Towson set a program record with 232 caused turnovers in 2018.
Molster has guided three Tigers to All-American honors. He has also coached 11 All-Region selections and 10 All-CAA picks. He helped Olivia Conti to earn CAA Defender of the Year accolades in 2017 and 2018.
He is also a defensive assistant for the England Senior National Team leading up to the 2021 World Cup. Molster oversees the defense and goalies. He served as an assistant coach for the England U19 team that claimed bronze at the 2015 World Cup.
Before arriving at Towson, Molster had coaching stints at Chesapeake, Broadneck, Severna Park and South River High Schools. He also spent three years as the volunteer assistant coach at Johns Hopkins.
Molster and his wife, Julie, have a son, Alex, who is a 2017 graduate of Penn State, earning degrees in Agricultural Business and English.
Penn State went 4-9 in 2021, including three wins against Top 20 opponents. The Nittany Lions claimed victories over Rutgers (20-11), No. 7 Maryland (15-13), No. 13 Michigan (13-12) and No. 9 Maryland (16-9). The blue and white finished the season ranked No. 21 in the IWLCA Poll, after being ranked the entire season and rising as high as No. 5.
The Nittany Lions landed four All-Big Ten selections, including Olivia Dirks (First Team) and Maria Auth, Sammy Helgeson and Kristin O’Neill (Second Team). Helgeson was a key leader of the Penn State defense with 14 ground balls and nine caused turnovers.
Dirks was the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, Penn State’s second ever, leading the blue and white in draw controls (78) and caused turnovers (18). O’Neill was tabbed Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Penn State’s second to win the award, after recording 15 caused turnovers in her first season in Happy Valley.
Taylor Suplee ranked third in the Big Ten in saves per game (8.08) and save percentage (.408). She was also third in the conference in ground balls per game (2.83). Suplee had six games with 10 or more saves, including 14 saves in a win over Maryland on February 21. She also had 12 saves in a win against Rutgers (2/14) and 13 in a victory against Michigan (3/21). Suplee made 12 stops at Northwestern (3/13) and 10 in each game against Ohio State (3/26, 3/28). She was the IWLCA Defensive Player of the Week following the win over Maryland. She was also a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week selection.
In 2020, the Nittany Lions earned a 5-2 record in 2020 before the season was canceled on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Nittany Lions began the season with four straight wins, defeating Towson (12-9), Lehigh (13-9), Duquesne (20-6) and Cornell (19-9). Penn State finished the season with a 14-13 victory at Vanderbilt.
Penn State was very strong on the defensive end, ranking fourth in the country in save percentage (.531) and 23rd in the nation in caused turnovers per game with 10.0. The Nittany Lions allowed 12.0 goals per game, ranking fourth in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions' defense was led by sophomore goalie Taylor Suplee, who earned honorable-mention All-American honors from Inside Lacrosse. Suplee led the Big Ten and ranked second in the nation averaging 12.43 saves per game. She held fifth in the nation with 87 saves and seventh with a .527 save percentage. Suplee ranked fourth in the Big Ten with a 12.27 goals-against average. Against Cornell, Suplee made 20 saves, becoming the first PSU goalie to record 20 saves since Cammie Jurkowsky made 20 saves against North Carolina on April 6, 2007.
Junior Kate Love and freshman Olivia Dirks tied for the team lead with seven caused turnovers. Senior Kristin Roberto followed with six caused turnovers, while junior Sammy Helgeson caused five.
In his time with the Tigers, Molster's unit established itself as one of the top defenses in the country, helping Towson to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Towson ranked 10th in the country with 11.47 caused turnovers in 2019. From 2016-18, Towson was among the Top 10 nationally in both goals against average and caused turnovers. The Tigers held 10 teams to single-digit goals in 2018 and held 11 opponents to single-digit goals in 2017, allowing just 9.36 goals in 2017. Towson set a program record with 232 caused turnovers in 2018.
Molster has guided three Tigers to All-American honors. He has also coached 11 All-Region selections and 10 All-CAA picks. He helped Olivia Conti to earn CAA Defender of the Year accolades in 2017 and 2018.
He is also a defensive assistant for the England Senior National Team leading up to the 2021 World Cup. Molster oversees the defense and goalies. He served as an assistant coach for the England U19 team that claimed bronze at the 2015 World Cup.
Before arriving at Towson, Molster had coaching stints at Chesapeake, Broadneck, Severna Park and South River High Schools. He also spent three years as the volunteer assistant coach at Johns Hopkins.
Molster and his wife, Julie, have a son, Alex, who is a 2017 graduate of Penn State, earning degrees in Agricultural Business and English.