Penn State women’s lacrosse freshman goalie Sydney Manning was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, the conference announced Monday. Manning became just the third Nittany Lion to receive the honor, joining Kristin O’Neill and Madison Carter, and the first since 2021.

Manning also won Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on her way to Big Ten Freshman of the Year. The Malvern, Pennsylvania, native ended the year with 100 saves and only 148 goals against. This was good enough for a goals-against average of 11.40, fifth-best in the Big Ten.

The freshman took the Big Ten by storm, starting in 12 of Penn State’s 16 games this year. This included stellar performances against No. 1 Northwestern and No. 4 Maryland. Manning was also a huge part of the Nittany Lions Big Ten Tournament success, recording 20 saves in three games.

Manning and the rest of the Nittany Lions will continue their season on Friday, May 10, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Penn State is set to face James Maddison University on Maryland’s campus at 3:00 p.m.

About the Author

Collin Ward

Collin is a fourth-year majoring in digital/print journalism. He lives in Basking Ridge, New Jersey and enjoys TAYLOR HAM, egg, and cheese. As a New York Giants and Chelsea FC fan you can normally find him yelling at his TV screen on the weekends. Please follow him on X(formerly Twitter) @wardcollinz for Penn State football stuff. You can email him at [email protected].

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