Penn State Women’s Lacrosse Hits The Road to Face No. 14 Rutgers
A tough, gritty performance from Penn State saw it ultimately fall short in overtime against No. 19 Michigan its last time out.
On Saturday, the task gets no easier for the Nittany Lions who will take a short road trip to No. 14 Rutgers to face the surging Scarlet Knights.
The Scarlet Knights are coming off of a commanding 14-4 victory over San Diego State in the first game of their three-game homestand. They have won their last two games improving their record to 12-3 and are ranked No. 14 in the country.
For the Nittany Lions, they will go from facing one of the best goalies in the nation to facing two top-25 scorers in the nation.
Cassidy Spilis and Taralyn Naslonski have both surpassed 50 goals this season, helping propel Rutgers to a scoring average of over 14 goals per game.
Add on contributions from Stephanie Kelly and Marin Hartshorn, who both have 23 goals on the season, and the Scarlet Knight offense has been on cruise control.
As for Penn State, it showed a stout defensive presence against Michigan last weekend, allowing just eight goals to a Michigan attack that came in averaging nearly 12.5 goals per game.
Ashley Bowan had one of her best efforts of the season in net for coach Missy Doherty allowing just eight goals with 10 saves.
It will take that same effort, and possibly more, from Bowan and the defense to find an answer to the Rutgers scoring attack on Saturday.
On the other side of the field, Penn State scored seven goals led by midseason All-American Kristin O’Neill. O’Neill registered her second straight hat trick in the losing effort.
The Nittany Lions were without the likes of Meghan Murray and Taylor Regan. The second and third leading goal scorers for the Nittany Lions did not appear last Saturday afternoon.
Brooke Hoss and Sydney Wolfington picked up the slack as both of them tallied two goals. Hoss continues to have a strong freshman campaign with 20 goals. Wolfington posted her fourth and fifth goal of the season including a highlight reel behind the back goal.
It will be the second straight weekend that the Nittany Lions will be challenged on the offensive side of things as Rutgers allows under 10 goals per game.
To get more opportunities to find the back of the net, Penn State will have to find a way to control the draws. Penn State has had an up-and-down season in this category, but Rutgers has been solid throughout.
When the Nittany Lions find themselves with the ball, they will have to do what they have done all season: not give it away. Penn State ranks fifth in the nation with 11.46 turnovers per game.
Rutgers finds themselves turning the ball over 16 times per contest. Penn State will need to capitalize on these to stay alive with one of the top teams in the nation.
Penn State will be looking for its first conference win in its fifth attempt and Rutgers will be looking for its third conference win also in its fifth attempt. The game is set to begin at noon on Saturday.
Justin Ciavolella is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jtc5751@psu.edu.
