Game Information
Opponent	No. 24 Penn State Nittany Lions
Date	Saturday, March 2, 2024
Time	12:00 p.m.
Location	Baltimore, Md. | Ridley Athletic Complex
Getting There	Directions | Parking | Tailgating at Ridley l Tickets
Watch	ESPN+ | International Video Stream
Online Media	Live Stats
Follow Us	Instagram | Twitter
Game Notes	Loyola Women's Lacrosse Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Draw
- Loyola continues non-conference play as they welcome No. 25 Penn State to Ridley Athletic Complex.
- The Greyhounds currently hold a 5-game winning streak over Penn State, as this will be Loyola's third ranked matchup of the season. 
- The Greyhounds welcome back 28 players from their 2023 team that reached the NCAA Quarterfinals for the second straight season. They return five of their top seven goal scorers and four of their top five point leaders. 
- They also welcome back three starting defenders from the 2023 team, including Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, Lily Osborne. 
- Lauren Spence will return in cage for the Greyhounds, after she ranked towards the top of the NCAA in goals against and save percentage during her first season as the starting goalkeeper. 
- Jen Adams is back for her 16th season at the helm of the Greyhounds, as they have experienced two of the best years in program history of the past two years.

Scouting Penn State
- The Nittany Lions come into the matchup with a 2-3 record, and have lost their last two games, coming against Princeton (18-13) and Drexel (10-8). 
- Coming into the week, Penn State was ranked No. 25 in the IWLCA Poll and received votes in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Poll. 
- Kristin O'Neill currently leads the team with 15 goals so far this season. Coming into the week, O'Neill ranked 24th in NCAA Division I in goals per game, averaging 3.75 per game, before being held to 0 goals in the loss to Drexel. 
- Payton Wainman is the only other player in double figures in points, as she has 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists) on the season. 
 -Kayla Abernathy has led the way in the circle for Penn State, as she leads the team with 19 draw controls on the season. 
- In goal, Sydney Manning has started all five games this season, tallying a 11.06 GAA and a .420 save percentage so far this season. 
- Loyola will be the second Patriot League foe Penn State will face this season, as they squared off against Buckell in their season opener, where they won 22-8. Kristin O'Neil had six goals in the win for Penn State.

Preseason All-Americans
- Three Greyhounds earned Preseason All-American nods leading into the 2024 season. 
- Junior Lauren Spence was named to the USA Lacrosse Magazine and Inside Lacrosse Second Team All-American. 
- Senior Sydni Black was named to the USA Lacrosse Magazine Third Team All-American, while also being named to the Inside Lacrosse All-American honorable mention. 
- Junior Georgia Latch was named to the USA Lacrosse Magazine and Inside Lacrosse All-American Third Team. 

Dominance From The Circle
- The Greyhounds ended the 2023 season as the No. 1 team in NCAA Division I in draw control percentage, winning 69 percent of their draws. 
- This, in large part was due to IWLCA Midfielder of the Year, Jillian Wilson, who led the country in draw controls with 198. 
- With the loss of Wilson due to graduating, Chase Boyle will be in line to fill the shoes of Wilson, who finished as the Greyhounds all time draw control leader. 
- This is not uncharted territory for the Greyhounds, as they have successfully replaced their main draw control player over the past few years. 
- Taryn VanThof who tallied 318 career draw controls from 2011, 2013-15, was then replaced by sister Taylor VanThof (2016-19), who broke her sisters record with 392 career draw controls. Then Livy Rosenzweig (2018-22) filled in and proceeded to break both VanThof's records with 413 career draw controls, before Wilson took over and shattered all of the Loyola draw control records. 
- The Greyhounds have relied on a next women up in the circle and have had success with it, in large part due to assistant coach Dana Dobbie, who coaches the draw and is a big reason to their success.

Nationally Ranked
- After their win over No. 12 Johns Hopkins, the Greyhounds remained ranked in the top 10 in the IWLCA Poll and in the USA Lacrosse Poll. 
- Loyola was ranked No. 8 in the IWLCA Poll and No. 8 in the USA Lacrosse Poll. 
- The IWLCA Poll features seven opponents on the Greyhounds 2024 schedule: Syracuse (No. 4), Florida (No. 11), Penn (No. 13), Johns Hopkins (No. 15), Navy (No. 17), Princeton (No. 23) and Penn State (No. 25).

Familiar Face
- On Saturday, Loyola will see a familiar face on the opposing sideline, as Taylor VanThof returns to Ridley as a member of the Penn State coaching staff. 
- VanThof, who graduated from Loyola in 2019, left Loyola as the programs leading in Draw Controls, as she finished with 392 in her career. 
- She finished her career as a Two-Time Second Team All-American selectioin and as a two-time Patriot League Midfielder of the Year winner.
- VanThof finished her career with 103 goals and 26 assists for 129 points.