UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The 8-2 Nittany Lions faced off against the 4-6 Buckeyes on Saturday. Penn State defended their home turf to get the 13-3 win.

It was senior night at Panzer Stadium and eight Nittany Lions walked to be honored for their contribution to Penn State women’s lacrosse.

The seniors honored were Haley Urgo, Rachel Spilker, Kara Nealon, Reagan Nealon, Brooke Barger, Kelsey Kimmel, Alexandra Bruno and Meghan Murray.

Urgo is one of Penn State’s keys to defense. She is a defensive weapon as this season she has 14 ground balls and caused six turnovers this season.

Spilker and Nealon were two of the three co-captains for the squad this year. It is the second year in a row Spilker was named to be a co-captain.

Head Coach Missy Doherty felt that the seniors are a huge part of the team’s leadership.

“I’m just so happy for them to see the success that we’re having this year,” she said.

Not only were seniors honored, but Penn State women’s lacrosse alumni were honored at halftime as well.

A packed crowd and a starting lineup studded by eight seniors made good motivation for the Nittany Lions to set the pace early.

Although the mist may have made visibility tough, it was crystal clear that Penn State was the dominant team on offense.

Going into halftime, the Nittany Lions kept the Buckeyes to a shutout and led the game 8-0. This was a full team effort as the eight goals came from five different shooters.

Murray, one of the team’s midfielders, was a powerful contributor to Penn State’s success. She scored two goals on the day, which increased her career goals to 40.

The Nittany Lions continued to command the game by never taking their foot off the gas. The third quarter ended 10-1 and Penn State would put up an impressive 11 goals on the day.

Leading Penn State’s scoring would be junior Gretchen Gilmore, who would score four goals on the day. Kristin O’Neill scored a hat trick as well, which would increase her consecutive game-scoring streak to 15 and her multi-game scoring streak to eight.

“I think we’ve been connecting really well these past two games,” Gilmore said. “It’s the best group of girls that are best friends and it just means a lot.”

Ohio State would finally get on the scoreboard with two goals from sophomore Annie Hargraves and a mid-fourth quarter goal by senior Nicole Ferrara.

The Nittany Lions came into the contest on a four-game winning streak, most recently taking down the University of Pittsburgh 15-12. It was in that game where Kristin O’Neill scored her 100th career goal and increased her consecutive scoring streak to 14 games.

In the historical matchup, Penn State leads the Buckeyes 22-9. Despite this impressive blue-and-white dominance, Ohio State has won the previous three games, all of which were played on their home turf.

Saturday’s game marks the Buckeyes’ fifth consecutive loss. They will be home against Louisville on Tuesday while the Nittany Lions will head to Northwestern on Thursday.

Allie Wenskoski is a first-year student studying broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amw7637@psu.edu.