No. 3 Maryland women’s lacrosse vs. No. 21 Penn State preview
· Yahoo Sports
Despite giving up five unanswered goals in the final quarter of Thursday’s contest, No. 3 Maryland women’s lacrosse took down No. 7 Johns Hopkins in its first top-10 matchup of 2026.
In what’s becoming second nature, Lauren LaPointe led the offense with a career-high seven goals and logging the seventh-highest points total in program history with 10. Her efforts, along with superb defense and goalkeeping in the first half, allowed the Terps to remain undefeated and escape Baltimore with a 15-12 win.
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Now returning to College Park, Maryland will take on another ranked opponent in No. 21 Penn State. The Nittany Lions are coming off back-to-back losses after nine straight victories.
The game will begin on Sunday at 12 p.m. in SECU Stadium and stream on Big Ten Plus.
No. 21 Penn State Nittany Lions (9-2, 1-1 Big Ten)
2025 Record: 7-9, 5-3 Big Ten
After missing the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time since 2022, Penn State needed to make a change. Enter head coach Kayla Treanor, who came to Happy Valleyafter stints at perennial powerhouses Boston College and Syracuse. The fresh face at the helm has completely flipped the faltering program on its head, almost turning the Nittany Lions into a serious contender overnight.
Penn State came into the year firing on all cylinders, taking down talented programs like No. 23 Pitt and Cornell. But after two multi-goal losses to ranked opponents, questions have risen as to whether or not the Nittany Lions’ offensive unit can compete with high-level defensive schemes.
Players to watch
Kelly MacKinney, junior attacker, No. 32 — Coming of her first year as a consistent starter, MacKinney has emerged as Penn State’s most balanced offensive weapon. The attacker’s versatility is best shown through her 22 goals and 25 assists. While she doesn’t lead her team in either category, she is always a passing or shooting threat inside the arc.
Delaney Radin, junior attacker, No. 6 — Although she leads the Nittany Lions with 50 points, the majority of them have come in unconventional ways. The junior leads the Big Ten with 35 assists, establishing herself as one of the game’s best passers despite only starting once this whole season.
Sydney Manning, junior goalkeeper, No. 33 — Rounding out a talented junior class, Manning’s performance has taken a huge uptick after noticeable inconsistencies in her first two years. The netminder has been the only goalkeeper to rival JJ Suriano in the conference this year, boasting a 50.3% save percentage and an 8.89 goals against average — both stand in the top-four of all Big Ten keepers.
Strength
Overall shooting. Penn State has been one of the most accurate teams in the conference all season long. The Nittany Lions collectively tout a 49.8% shooting percentage and a 73.7% shots on goal percentage, both placing second in the Big Ten. This has led to massive goal disparities in Penn State’s favor, resulting in a +64 goal differential on the year.
Weakness
The draw circle. There’s not much to write home about, but the Nittany Lions’ 13.5 draw controls per game rank in the bottom third of all Big Ten teams. This issue has been prevalent in their last two losses, getting outplayed 18-9 and 12-7 against Princeton and Michigan, respectfully. For Maryland faceoff specialist Kayla Gilmore, the draw circle will likely look like Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday.
Three things to watch
1. Pick your poison. At the end of last season, only 14 different Terps scored a single goal. Through 11 games in 2026, Maryland already has tied that number. The Terps have constantly emphasized the danger that comes with facing their seven-pronged attacking unit.
“We have so many threats. The defense can’t guard one person the whole game they have to cover all seven of us. So I definitely think having threats has helped my success,” LaPointe said.
2. No days off. After a 12-save performance and facing 41 total shots against Johns Hopkins, Suriano will be thrown right back into the lion’s den on Sunday. With an extremely precise attacking unit staring her down, the junior will likely have her work cut out for her between the posts.
3. Can the defense bounce back? Following three quarters of consistent containment, Maryland’s defense seemed to completely fall apart in the final 15 minutes on Thursday. Head coach Cathy Reese attributed the lapse to two consecutive yellow cards, forcing the Terps to play man-down for four minutes. However, the Nittany Lions are hungry for a win and will force Maryland to play defense for a full 60 minutes.