Women’s Lacrosse vs. Johns Hopkins Preview
Whiteout conditions are incoming, and we’re not talking about another spring flurry in State College.
Tonight, Penn State hosts Johns Hopkins at Panzer Stadium for the Nittany Lions’ ‘Wear White’ game at 6 p.m. The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series against the Blue Jays 16-8, but have yet to topple the birds in the past three matchups.
For the No. 25 ranked Blue Jays, they’re coming off a 17-14 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday that vaulted the team to 9-7 and a 1-4 record in the conference.
A story that’s loomed over the entire season is the impending retirement of head coach Janine Tucker, the all-time winningest coach at Johns Hopkins over the span of her 28 years for the program.
Speaking of veterans, graduate student Shelby Harrison leads the team with 40 points on 37 goals and three assists, and she’s taken 54 wins in the draw circle this season.
The leading facilitator for the team is Georgia Esmond. Esmond, the senior, leads the team with 22 assists to her name thus far.
Jeanne Kachris, another grad student, leads the defensive attack with 27 caused turnovers. Grad student and starting goalie, Kathleen Garvey is 9-6 with a .445 save percentage.
Overall, the veteran team has made noise in recent weeks with three wins in their last four contests and will look to pull out another win on Penn State’s turf to close out their regular season.
For the Nittany Lions, they’re 6-8 with an 0-5 record in the Big Ten. They’re coming off back-to-back losses to No. 19 Michigan in overtime and No.14 Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey this past Saturday.
Brooke Hoss is coming off her second Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolade of the season. Hoss posted a hat trick against the Scarlet Knights, adding three goals to her now 23 in her freshman campaign.
Sophomore Kristin O’Neill leads the team with 36 goals, 48 points and 21 caused turnovers. Junior Kara Nealon has been her compliment with 21 assists on the season as the team’s leading facilitator.
Defensively, freshman Ashley Bowan has started the last 11 games with a .403 save percentage on the season as the freshman continues to grow into the future for the Nittany Lions between the pipes.
So far this season, the Nittany Lions hold only one ranked win, taking down No. 21 James Madison on March 9. They’ll look to turn the tides after five straight losses to ranked opponents since that win.
It’s a battle of youth versis experience as the Nittany Lions will seek to take down the veteran-led Blue Jays and earn their first conference win of the season in their regular season finale under the lights at Panzer Stadium.
Dylan Price is a first-year majoring in journalism. To contact him, email dvp5625@psu.edu.
