Both No. 18 Penn State and No. 20 Colorado recorded significant wins Friday, upsetting No. 11 Virginia 22-13 and No. 14 USC 10-7, respectively.
The Buffs avenged their one-goal overtime loss to the Trojans on March 16 and rebounded from its 10-8 loss at Denver last week.
"USC is obviously a great team and a team we have struggled with in the past,” Colorado coach Ann Elliott said on the Pac-12 matchup. “It is a huge conference game for us. We are looking to continue to compete and finish strong down the stretch this year in the second half. It is a huge win for us."
No. 20 @CUBuffsWLax win the snowdown on their home turf, topping No. 14 @USCTrojansLax 10-7. The Buffs avenged their OT loss to the Trojans earlier this season thanks to 8PTs from Darby Kiernan. #NCAAWLAX #SnowCrosse pic.twitter.com/jgU0N6FjJN
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) April 6, 2018
Colorado opened the snowy game with a 4-0 lead less than 10 minutes in thanks to a hat trick from Darby Kiernan. USC got on the board at the 12:44 mark on Kerrigan Miller’s goal, but the Buffs responded with a three-goal run to enter halftime with a 7-1 advantage.
The Trojans started the second half with a four-goal spurt with two goals apiece from Kaeli Huff and Kerrigan Miller to bring the score within two.
Colorado had one last three-goal run, with two more coming Kiernan, to go up by five. USC had two more goals in the final 10:54, but the Buffs held on for the three-goal victory on their snow-covered home field.
Kiernan tied her career high with eight points on five goals and three assists.
A couple hours later, the Nittany Lions dominated the Cavaliers for the nine-goal upset.
Senior Katie O’Donnell recorded a career-high eight points in the win, becoming the 14th player in Penn State history to reach the 200-point mark.
Virginia scored the first two goals of the game in the first two minutes, but the Nittany Lions quickly took the lead with a four-goal run, which was followed by a six-goal spurt six minutes later to go up 11-4 at the 6:34 mark in the first half.
HALFTIME: No. 18 @PennStateWLAX leads No. 11 @UVAWomensLax 13-6. O'Donnell has a team-high 4G for the Nittany Lions, becoming the 14th player in program history to tally 200 career points. #NCAAWLAX pic.twitter.com/oZbAdJu6sw
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) April 7, 2018
With a six-goal advantage for Penn State at the break, Virginia aimed to make a comeback playing a tighter 9-7 second half.
Avery Shoemaker again scored the first goal of the period for the Cavaliers, but Penn State had another three-goal run to lead 17-8 with 21 minutes remaining.
The final 20:39 minutes saw an even 5-5 battle, with Shoemaker netting two more scores in the final five minutes, but the Nittany Lions’ cushion was too much to recover from.
The win marked the third straight for Penn State since falling to Princeton on March 19.
Games of Note
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Junior Selena Lasota became the 11th Northwestern player since 2002 to reach 200 career points with four goals in the Wildcats’ 20-6 win over Ohio State.
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With four goals in a 20-5 rout of Drexel, Towson junior Carly Tellekamp tallied her 100th career goal. The Tigers tied the second-best start to a season in school history, matching the 1980 team.
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With four players netting hat tricks, No. 4 James Madison got its largest win of the season with a 19-5 win over Delaware in its CAA opener. The 14 goal differential was the Dukes’ largest margin of victory against the Blue Hens and the victory marked JMU’s best start in school history, winning 10 of 11 to start a season.
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Sophomore Brindi Griffin led No. 3 Maryland past Rutgers 14-6 on senior night with a career-high five points.
Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Top 20 Scoreboard
No. 3 Maryland 14, Rutgers 6
No. 4 James Madison 19, Delaware 5
No. 8 Towson 20, Drexel 5
No. 9 Northwestern 20, Ohio State 6
No. 18 Penn State 22, No. 11 Virginia 13
No. 20 Colorado 10, No. 14 USC 7