WLAX: No. 8 Penn State Takes Down Scarlet Knights in first Big Ten Matchup of the Season
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – On a cold and gloomy afternoon at the Penn State Lacrosse Field, Penn State women’s lacrosse brought the heat, defeating Rutgers 18-7.
Coming into the matchup off a 16-11 loss to Colorado, the Nittany Lions were looking to prove why they are a top ten team and, on Saturday, they did just that.
After Rutgers’ Kristina Dunphey picked up the first point of the match, the Nittany Lions went on a three-goal scoring streak to bring the score to 3-1 in favor of Penn State.
Steph Lazo, Katie O’Donnell and Madison Carter proved to be a pivotal to the team’s success all game long. The triple-threat powerhouse picked up eight of Penn State’s nine goals in the first half alone.
Lazo drove to the goal and delivered a powerful right-handed rip, boosting the score 6-3 Penn State. The goal marked the senior attacker’s 23rd of the season.
With 10 minutes left in the first half, O’Donnell picked up her first goal of the game off an assist by Lazo to pick up another quick point for the Nittany Lions.
A foul called against Rutgers presented Carter with a free position shot that the Scarlet Knights’ defense immediately jumped on. However, Carter was given another free position opportunity and was successful, improving the score to 10-4 in favor of Penn State with five minutes left in the half.
The Nittany Lions’ lead the Scarlet Knights 12-6 going into halftime.
Coming into the second half, Penn State head coach Missy Doherty challenged her team to “play better”, and the Nittany Lions did just that.
Two saves by goalie Cat Rainone and another goal by O’Donnell set the tone early as to how much of the second half would play out in a similar way to the first.
The Nittany Lions continued to dominate on both sides of the field as Rutgers struggled heavily due to fouls.
Lazo picked up her third goal of the game while Carter picked up her fourth to send the score to 16-6 and give Penn State a solid ten-goal lead.
Senior Shelby Wells delivered two powerful shots, including one between the goalie’s legs, that helped Penn State to walk away with an 18-7 victory over Rutgers.
Rutgers ended the matchup with 19 fouls compared to Penn State’s nine as the Nittany Lions boosted their record to 18-0 against the Scarlet Knights.
The Nittany Lions will travel to Princeton to take on the Tigers this upcoming Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Ellie French is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email ejfrench97@gmail.com.
