Michigan
11-6
Penn State
11-6
Michigan Downs No. 18 Penn State, Advances to Big Ten Tournament Semifinals
4/29/2023 3:42:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
» Michigan defeated No. 18-ranked Penn State 14-8 and advances to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
» Kaylee Dyer recorded seven points with five goals and two assists.
» Maya Santa-Maria made 10 saves in the win.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan women's lacrosse team defeated No. 18 Penn State 14-8 on Saturday (April 29) in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal contest at U-M Lacrosse Stadium.
With the victory over the Nittany Lions, the Wolverines advance to the quarterfinals and will take on top-seed Northwestern on Thursday (May 4) at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium in Columbus. Game time is to be announced.
The Wolverines (11-6) were led by sophomore Kaylee Dyer who recorded seven points with five goals and two assists, while Jill Smith added five points with three goals and two assists and Erin Garvey had a hat trick.
Defensively, Michigan caused 13 turnovers with three from Garvey, while Maddie Burns, Morgan Whitaker and Julia Schwabe all added two each. In the cage, Maya Santa-Maria made 10 saves for her fourth double-digit save effort of the season.
On the draw control, Schwabe and Lily Montemarano each had three wins and Garvey and Smith had two apiece.
The two teams played a tight game early in the first quarter before Michigan pulled away with four straight goals to close out the opening stanza with a 6-2 advantage. The Nittany Lions began to close the gap with back-to-back goals to open the second quarter, but Dyer's third goal of the game brought the U-M lead back to three, 7-4, before a Smith tally doubled up the score, 8-4, with 49 seconds left in the first half.
PSU tried to cut its deficit to start the second half once again, scoring 26 in to trim the Michigan lead to three, but Garvey answered with a shorthanded goal to push the lead to 9-5. Penn State got within two, 9-7, on a pair of goals 37 seconds apart. The Wolverines regrouped and scored five straight goals, beginning with Garvey's second goal of the third quarter with 7:36 remaining and ending by Dyer with 2:26 left in the fourth quater, to take a 14-7 advantage.
Penn State added one final goal with 23 seconds left but the Wolverines easily sailed to a 14-8 victory.
