The 11th-ranked Penn State women’s lacrosse team looks to be the first Nittany Lion team to reach the NCAA Championship Game since 1989 when it plays No. 3 North Carolina on Friday at Chester’s Talen Energy Stadium. Opening draw is set for 5 p.m. for the national semifinal, which will be streamed live on ESPN3.com.
For the first time since 1999, Penn State is back in the NCAA Semifinals. The Lions are making their 10th trip to semifinal weekend. The Nittany Lions are just the third unseeded team to reach the semifinals since the 8-team seeds began in 2005. The Nittany Lions join Duke (2008) and Syracuse (2010) to pull the feat and are the first team to win three games to reach the semifinals.
ACC champion UNC’s last loss came Feb. 27 to No. 1 Maryland. The Tar Heel’s only other loss was to Florida on Feb. 20. Penn State defeated Florida in Gainesville in the NCAA second round. The Nittany Lions lost to Maryland 10-9 on April 28.
UNC’s high-powered and balanced offense features five 50+ point scorers, led by Molly Hendrick (55g, 12a). Marie McCool (44g, 12a), Sammy Jo Tracy (38g, 20a, 100 draw controls), Aly Messinger (31g, 28a) and Ela Hazar (24g, 26a) lead the charge.
Penn State senior midfielder Madison Cyr leads the team in goals (57), points (80), shots (128), ground balls (33) and caused turnovers (38). Junior attack Steph Lazo is leading the Big Ten in assists (37), which ranks ninth nationally. On the defensive side, senior goalkeeper Emi Smith has been sterling this postseason with 24 saves in three NCAA games.
The winner of Friday’s game will face the winner of the other semifinal between No. 1 Maryland and No. 4 Syracuse between on Sunday at noon in Chester.
