| 2015 Northwestern Lacrosse -- Game 15 |
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| No. 7 Northwestern (10-4, 2-1) at No. 12 Penn State (11-3, 3-0) | |
| Date | Sunday, April 19 | 12 p.m. CT |
| Location | Lakeside Field | Evanston, Ill. |
| Gametracker | NUSports.com |
| Live Stream | BTN Plus on BTN2GO |
| Social Media | @NU_SportsLIVE  | @NULax | Facebook  |
| Game Notes | Northwestern | Penn State |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The seventh-ranked Northwestern Wildcats will host No. 12 Penn State in a key Big Ten Conference matchup Sunday at the friendly confines of Lakeside Field.
The opening draw is scheduled for noon as Chicago's Big Ten Team will look to extend its 18-game winning streak against the Nittany Lions while handing them their first conference loss of the season. The Nittany Lions are tied for first in Big Ten play with a perfect 3-0 record, while the 'Cats are a game behind with a 2-1 record.
The Wildcats are coming off an important 10-9 win at No. 10 Notre Dame Thursday night in which junior Kaleigh Craig and sophomore Sheila Nesselbush scored a pair of goals late to secure the victory.
Lasota Added to Tewaaraton Watch List
Freshman Selena Lasota was added to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List last Thursday, the Tewaaraton Foundation announced. She joins seniors Bridget Bianco and Kara Mupo on the list for the awarded given each year to the top player across all three devisions of NCAA lacrosse. Three different Wildcats have won the Tewaaraton Trophy a total of five times in program history - Kristen Kjellman (2006, '07), Hannah Nielsen (2008, '09) and Shannon Smith (2011).
Into the Fire
Freshman Ally Mueller made her first career start on Thursday with the task of employing a face guard on Notre Dame's top scorer Cortney Fortunato. Mueller had appeared in just six games prior to the contest, but was up to the task and held Fortunato to just a pair of goals, 1.3 below her season average. Mueller finished the game with a ground ball and her first career draw control as well.
Lasota Passes 50-Goal Mark
Freshman Selena Lasota scored four goals in the Wildcats' 10-9 win over No. 10 Notre Dame on Thursday night, becoming the first Northwestern freshman since Kristen Kjellman in 2003 to score 50 goals. Lasota has scored at least two goals in all 14 games this season and ranks third in the country with 52 total as well as fourth in the country with 3.71 per contest. She is just 15 goals shy from cracking Northwestern's top 10 for goals in a season.
Carroll Shining in Defensive Role
Senior Jess Carroll shifted back to a defensive role on March 22 against Syracuse and shined by holding All-American Kayla Treanor without a shot, but it was Thursday at Rutgers that was arguably the senior played arguably the best game of her career. Carroll's ability to anticipate passes and cut into passing lanes led to a career-best five caused turnovers and five ground balls. She became the 10th different player with five caused turnovers in a contest, tying the fifth-best mark in program history.
All-Time Series
The Wildcats own a 19-4 mark against Penn State all time, winning each of the last 18 meetings. The winning streak is the longest against any opponent in program history. The `Cats are 7-1 at home against the Nittany Lions, with the lone loss being their last loss in the series back on April 19, 2003.
Scouting the Nittany Lions
The 12th-ranked program in the country enters Sunday's contest with a record of 11-3 overall and a perfect 3-0 in Big Ten Play as they have won each of their last six games, including a 13-9 victory over Cornell earlier this week. Penn State is 2-3 against ranked opponents this season, with their wins coming against No. 9 Stanford, 17-5, and No. 18 Ohio State, 14-13. Maggie McCormick leads the Nittany Lions offensively with 51 points (21 g, 30 a), while Steph Lazo (28 g, 6 a) and Tatum Coffey (26 g, 8 a) are tied for second on the team with 34 points. They rank second in the Big Ten with 13.93 goals per game and goals-against average by allowing just 8.64 per game. Emi Smith has been the goalkeeper of record in all 14 contests, posting a .465 save percentage and 8.70 goals-against average in 737:59 of play.
@NULax Gameday At-A-Glance
Game details, series history, facts, figures and more to get you set for Northwestern's matchup vs. No. 12 Penn State...
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