Penn State women’s lacrosse (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) beat Bucknell (2-1, 0-0 Patriot League) 21-9 in a strong home performance.

The Nittany Lions had an electric offensive day, with eight goals alone in the first quarter and 21 total. Penn State’s ability to win draws and quickly find ways to score made it look easy for them to win. With consistently scoring goals throughout the game and causing multiple turnovers, Penn State flew by the Bison.

How It Happened

Bucknell won the opening draw, gaining the first possession. Penn State quickly forced a turnover and scored with a goal by Delaney Radin on a free position shot with 13:38 left to go in the first quarter.

Within a minute of the first goal, the Nittany Lions scored again. Rocquette Allen scored with 13:13 left in the first.

Penn State started strong on offense, taking no time to score when marching down the field. Bucknell wasn’t able to get strong shots on goal, and with a missed shot, Penn State scored again. Kelly Mackinney had an unassisted goal with 11:46 left to go in the first quarter, making Penn State go up three goals early.

Bucknell’s offense struggled to find its rhythm early, turning the ball over and allowing Penn State to score its fourth goal with 9:28 left to go in the first quarter. The goal was scored by Maddie Greco for her first of the season, and assisted by Radin for her seventh of the season.

Penn State’s offense was moving quickly and passing the ball efficiently, with a slew of players getting a shot off.

With 6:47 left to go in the first quarter, Bucknell responded with a goal by Megan Krestinsky. However, with 6:09 left to go in the first quarter, Erika Ho scored, allowing the Nittany Lions to maintain their four-goal lead.

Bucknell searched for goals to stay in the game early. With 5:31 left to go in the first, Alex Macutek scored, narrowing Penn State’s lead to three. Within 11 seconds, the Nittany Lions scored again with a goal by Ho with her second in a row, and in the game.

Penn State’s offense maintained a strong rhythm and stayed confident with its shooting. It showed no signs of slowing down, dominating with a handful of shots. Payton Wainman scored with 4:18 left to go with a free-position goal. Penn State took a 7-2 lead with four minutes to go in the first quarter.

After a penalty from Penn State, Bucknell was able to storm back downfield and score through Caroline Sheridan with 2:20 left to go in the first quarter.

Determined to maintain their lead, Allen scored another goal with 19 seconds left to go in the first quarter for her second of the game. The first quarter finished 8-3, with an impressive offensive start for the Nittany Lions.

The Nittany Lions started the second quarter with possession. The Bison were able to get the ball back, but missed a shot on a free-position attempt. Penn State took advantage, and with 11:41 left to go in the half, Ellie Wisch scored her first of the game.

Shortly after, Penn State scored another goal, made by Wainman, with 11:04 left to go in the half. Wainman got her second goal of the game, extending Penn State’s lead to seven.

The Nittany Lions were strong on draws, creating many offensive opportunities. With 9:49 left to go in the half, Emma Kelly scored, making the Bison take a timeout.

Kelly continued to be dominant on draws as Bucknell was struggling to get offensive possessions in the second quarter.

With 8:32 left to go in the half, Greco scored her second goal of the game. Less than 30 seconds later, Allen scored her third with 7:47 left to go in the half, extending Penn State’s lead to 10.

With six minutes left to go, Bucknell finally got an offensive possession and a free-position shot. But Penn State’s defense remained strong, preventing another goal.

However, Bucknell eventually responds with a goal by Krestinski for her second of the game with 4:45 left to go in the half, narrowing Penn State’s lead back to single digits.

With another draw win for the Nittany Lions, Anna Salerno scored with 3:28 left to go in the half. Penn State extended its lead back to 10.

Bucknell gained possession back from a missed shot and scored on a free-position shot by Sheridan with 40 seconds to go in the half.

The half ended 14-5, with Penn State’s offense showcasing its impressive scoring abilities. The new scheme structured by head coach Kayla Treanor has proven to be effective, with a high-scoring first half.

Penn State started the second half winning the draw, but quickly turned the ball over. With a good save from goalie Arden Jansen, Penn State got possession back.l

Penn State also decided to make a goalie switch from Sydney Manning to Jansen.

After a few back-and-forth possessions between the two teams, Greco scored her third of the game with 12:28 left to go in the third quarter.

Shortly after, Allen scored her fourth of the game off a freeposition shot with 9:54 left in the third. A little over 30 seconds later, Allen got her fifth goal of the day.

Penn State continued to march downfield with another goal scored by Maggie Rezza with 7:40 left in the third quarter.

With Bucknell having opportunities to narrow the lead on offense, Penn State’s defense remained strong, creating multiple turnovers. The offense continued to move the ball well, and with 5:10 left to go, Porter Rhoades scored another goal for the Nittany Lions.

The Bison refused to give up, as Katie Brown scored with 2:31 left to go in the third quarter. Bucknell further narrowed Penn State’s lead with another score through Caleigh Cumminsky to end the third quarter, as Penn State led 19-7.

Bucknell added the first goal of the first quarter, scored by Cumminsky with 12:45 left to go in the game. The Bison started to slowly gain back rhythm on offense, winning multiple draws and picking up a higher pace.

The Bison scored yet another goal scored by Kratinski for her third of the game with 10:55 left to go in the game.

Penn State became slower on offense, dropping multiple passes and missing shots as Bucknell was able to make crucial defensive stops in the game.

The Nittany Lions were able to get back into the game with a goal scored by Wisch with 6:27 left to go in the fourth quarter. Penn State seemed to be slower overall, wanting to kill more time on the clock. Jansen started to make more saves in the net, preventing the Bison from further scoring.

Hannah Hoyt scored her first collegiate goal with 3:20 left in the fourth quarter to get the Nittany Lions over 20 goals this game.

Penn State continued to slow down the rest of the quarter, as its lead appeared to be secured.

With a minute left in the game, Bucknell continued to run downfield and try to score, but it wasn’t enough. Penn State finished the game with a 21-9 win.

Takeaways

• Penn State had a great start, scoring 14 goals in the first half. It continued to strive offensively, scoring goals by 12 different players.
• Players Maddie Greco and Rocquette Allen both had impressive days, as Greco scored three goals and Allen had five. They have big contributions to the win today.
• Penn State decided to switch its goalie after the first half. Sydney Manning started the first half, and Arden Jansen started the second, both having strong performances.

What’s Next?

Penn State will play against the Pitt Panthers on Wednesday, February 18, at 5 p.m. The game will be played at Panzer Stadium and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.