Penn State women’s lacrosse (1-1) dominated Bucknell (0-1) 16-4 in Holuba Hall on Wednesday.

Penn State was dominant from start to finish. Early points from Kelly MacKinney and Brook Hoss were all the momentum the Nittany Lions needed to finish out the game. Up 11-1 going into halftime, Penn State slowed the game down a lot in the second half and allowed some of its untested players to get time. After a slower second half, Penn State on 16-4.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions started hot, similar to their game against Richmond, taking a three-goal lead in less than five minutes. Ellie Wisch, MacKinney, and Hoss all scored for Penn State.

After a slow four minutes, Bucknell responded from a free-position shot to make it 3-1. Subsequently, both sides had a couple of solid chances to score before the end of the quarter, but neither team could capitalize.

Erika Ho had the first chance of the second quarter, ripping a shot from a free-position but it rattled off the crossbar and out of harm’s way. Nearly four minutes later though, Payton Wainman took advantage of her free position and made it 4-1.

With the floodgates open, an Elise Smigiel, Hoss, and Lauren Saltz goal followed suit making it 7-1 with eight minutes to play in the first half. Bucknell called its first timeout at this conjunction.

The onslaught continued after the timeout with Ally Lipkin and Ho both scoring. With the Nittany Lions up 9-1 with six minutes still to play in the first half, it was looking less and less likely the Bison would get their first-ever win against Penn State.

The Nittany Lions scored twice more to end the first half and an impressive save from Sydney Manning with five seconds left meant they went into the break up 11-1.

Penn State started where they left off in the second half, scoring within two minutes. But, this time the Bison had an answer and scored their second of the game two minutes later.

After finding the back of the net, Bucknell found some momentum and had a few offensive possessions that took up much of the third quarter. Manning and the rest of the defense never lapsed in attention though, and the Bison didn’t find the back of the net the rest of the third quarter.

The Nittany Lions, however, made the most of their chances and scored to make it 13-2 to end the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, with most of Penn State’s starters out, the game evened out. Penn State scored three times and Bucknell twice to end the game at 16-4.

Takeaways

• Penn State has never lost to Bucknell in program history and with Wednesday’s win, the Nittany Lions move to 22-0 all-time against the Bison.
• Penn State had 10 different scorers in the game. Due to its large lead, the Nittany Lions were able to get a lot of its 12 freshmen sometime. Smigiel led the way with three goals.
• Sydney Manning had a marvelous .857 save percentage with six saves and just one goal against. This game will no doubt be a huge confidence booster for the sophomore.

What’s Next?

Penn State will go on the road for the first time this season to take on Saint Joseph’s at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 15. Folks at home can tune in on ESPN+.