Penn State women’s lacrosse beat Rutgers 18-13 to open Big Ten play Saturday afternoon in Piscataway.

Maria Auth led the Nittany Lions with five points, while New Jersey native Quinn Nicolai and captain Katie O’Donnell also chipped in hat tricks.

How It Happened

Freshman midfielder Sophia Triandafils scored the game’s first goal — part of a 5-1 run to open the contest. Penn State owned a 10-3 lead over the Scarlet Knights at the half, as Madison Carter reached 31 goals on the season.

Rutgers mounted a comeback late in the second half when Madison Cunningham came on in relief for Lucy Lowe in goal. Six different players tallied multi-goal games for the Nittany Lions. Auth stretched her goal streak to 13 games — dating all the way back to last season’s NCAA tournament.

Penn State has outscored its opponents 146-105 through the first nine games of the year thanks in part to its dominance on free positions. The Nittany Lions have converted 49 of their attempts, while allowing only 15 so far.

Player of the Game

Lucy Lowe | Freshman | Goalkeeper

Lowe finished with a career-high 10 saves in the victory.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions (6-3, 1-0 Big Ten) return to Panzer Stadium Monday for a 4 p.m. game against Princeton. Penn State advanced to its second consecutive Final Four the last time the Tigers came to town.