Northwestern Championship Preview

Women's Lacrosse

No. 15 Women’s Lacrosse to Face No. 1 Northwestern in Big Ten Championship

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 15 ranked Penn State women's lacrosse team will match up against No. 1 Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship game Saturday, May 4 at 5:30 p.m. in Evanston, Ill. 
 
Game Info
Who: (15) Penn State vs. (1) Northwestern
What: Big Ten Tournament Championship
Where: Evanston, Ill. – Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium
When: Saturday, May 4 at 5:30 p.m. EST
Live Stream | Live Stats | Tickets
 
Nittany Lions vs. Wildcats
The Nittany Lions and the Wildcats met in late March of the regular season, where Penn State upset Northwestern in overtime, 14-13. Kristin O'Neill scored the game winning goal to help the team earn their first victory over the No. 1 team in the country since 2005. 
 
Penn State is 10-27-0 all-time against Northwestern. The last time the two teams met in the Northwestern 21-16 in the semifinals to advance to the championship. The Nittany Lions are 2-2 against the Wildcats in the post season. 
 
Scouting the Wildcats
The reigning national champions are 14-2 (5-1 B1G) and are led by head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. Northwestern advanced to the championship after beating Johns Hopkins Thursday afternoon, 13-12. 
 
Sophomore Madison Taylor leads the Wildcats offense with 89 points coming from 63 goals and 26 assists. Sixth year Izzy Scane follows closely behind with 81 points. The pair leads the Big Ten in points. 
 
Taylor is No. 1 in the country in free position goals per game with 1.60. Penn State's O'Neill is second in the nation with 1.38 per game. 
 
In cage for the Wildcats is sixth year Molly Laliberty. The keeper has 105 saves on the season and a .418 save percentage.
 
On the draw, Northwestern is third in the country with 18.53 per game. 
 
Last Time Out
Penn State claimed a spot in the Big Ten Championship for just the third time in program history after dominating Rutgers, 17-8. Freshman Kelly MacKinney led the offense in the game with six points coming from 2 goals and four assists. 
 
On the Lookout
>> Kristin O'Neill is two points away from 200 in her career. 
>> With a win on Saturday, this will be just the second time in program history that the Nittany Lions have secured the Big Ten Tournament title (2015). 
 
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Players Mentioned

Kristin O

#19 Kristin O'Neill

5' 8"
Junior
Kelly  MacKinney

#32 Kelly MacKinney

5' 6"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Kristin O

#19 Kristin O'Neill

5' 8"
Junior
Kelly  MacKinney

#32 Kelly MacKinney

5' 6"
Freshman