No. 5 Penn State women’s lacrosse (15-2, 5-1 Big Ten) concluded its regular season on Sunday with a 17-10 victory over unranked Michigan (5-12, 1-5 Big Ten).

Junior Katie O’Donnell led all scorers with five goals for Penn State, followed by senior Steph Lazo and sophomore Madison Carter, who both scored twice. Lazo also scored her 200th career point for the Nittany Lions with an assist on junior Maggie Gallagher’s goal in the first half. Senior goalie Cat Rainone made 11 saves in the win.

How It Happened

Penn State got off to a fast start, with sophomore Kayla Brisolari and O’Donnell scoring two goals in 18 seconds to give their team a 2-0 lead just 2:28 into the contest. However, Michigan would respond with two goals of its own to tie the game with 23:52 left in the first half.

The Nittany Lions offered their own response, scoring two more goals to take a 4-2 lead with just over 20 minutes left in the first half. After Michigan’s Anna Schueler and Penn State’s Madison Carter traded goals, Michigan tied the game at five with 8:28 left in the first half. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, this would be the last time they were not trailing.

Penn State’s dynamic offense took over from there. Gallagher, Lazo, and O’Donnell scored three unanswered goals to give their team an 8-5 lead heading into halftime. Lazo’s assist on Gallagher’s 14th goal of the season marked her 200th career point with Penn State, and O’Donnell’s goal was her 50th of the season.

After halftime, Michigan managed to stop the bleeding and cut the deficit to two early in the second half, but Penn State exploded for four more goals to take a 12-6 lead with 21:22 remaining in the game.

Senior Taylor Bleistein, Carter, O’Donnell, and Lazo scored in the 4-0 run to give Penn State some breathing room against the Wolverines. Although Michigan did manage to trim the lead to three with 8:07 left in the half, another 4-0 run by the Nittany Lions helped them pull away and seal the victory.

Freshman Maria Auth, senior Abby Smucker, Gallagher, and O’Donnell scored the four goals during this run for Penn State to end the game with a big 17-10 victory.

Player Of The Game

Katie O’Donnell | Junior | Midfielder

O’Donnell earns player of the game honors for her five-goal effort Sunday at the Big House. She concludes the regular season with 52 goals, which ranks second on the team behind Madison Carter’s 60.

What’s Next?

Penn State begins its quest for a Big Ten Championship this Friday at 8:30 p.m. with a matchup against Northwestern (9-8, 4-2 Big Ten). The game is a rematch of Penn State’s 14-13 win over the Wildcats in Evanston on April 13.