Northwestern
Penn State
No. 3 Northwestern Opens Big Ten Play Against Penn State
3/14/2025 10:09:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
EVANSTON, Ill. – The No. 3 Northwestern Wildcats (6-1) return home to Ryan Fieldhouse on Sunday, March 16, for a Big Ten matchup against Penn State (2-6). The opening draw is set for 1 p.m. CT.
????????
— Northwestern Lax (@NULax) March 13, 2025
See ya Sunday at 1PM! pic.twitter.com/rNCVS9ryuN
Northwestern and Penn State played two tightly contested games last season. In their regular-season meeting at University Park, the Nittany Lions edged out a 14-13 overtime victory despite a strong performance from Madison Taylor, who finished with two goals and two assists. Sam Smith and Madi Smith controlled the draw circle, securing eight and five draw controls, respectively, in a game that featured three lead changes.
B1G Preview with Sammy White and Riley Campbell!
— Northwestern Lax (@NULax) March 14, 2025
Watch: https://t.co/IzsR2q0IMY pic.twitter.com/0CAtAsYUCA
The Wildcats got their revenge in the Big Ten Tournament championship game, defeating Penn State 14-12 to secure the conference title. Jane Hansen led the defensive effort with four caused turnovers, five ground balls and an assist. Northwestern outshot Penn State 29-27 and won the draw control battle 17-12 to claim the program's third Big Ten championship sweep.
Northwestern enters Sunday's matchup riding a four-game win streak after a dominant 19-9 win at Marquette. Taylor set a career high with eight goals while adding five ground balls, two caused turnovers and four draw controls. Sam Smith matched her career high with 14 draw controls, and the Wildcats' defense locked in, securing 23 ground balls while all three goalkeepers saw playing time.
Penn State comes to Evanston after a five-game losing streak, most recently falling to No. 5 Maryland. The Nittany Lions are 1-2 on the road this season and have struggled to close out games, dropping six of their eight contests. Junior attacker Erika Ho leads the team with 21 goals and 44 draw controls.
Northwestern leads the all-time series 28-10 and has won five of the last six meetings.
The opening draw for Sunday's matchup is set for 1 p.m. CT at Ryan Fieldhouse. Buy tickets here and tune in to watch on B1G+.
