Women’s Lacrosse has Tough Weekend Ahead – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/29/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
March 29, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio— The Ohio State women’s lacrosse team will face the Delaware Blue Hens at 4 p.m. Friday and will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Buckeyes enter the weekend with a 6-2 record, including a perfect 4-0 mark at home. The No. 9 Blue Hens enter the weekend with a 6-0 record, including wins over No. 19 Old Dominion and No. 2 James Madison. The No. 16 Nittany Lions enter the weekend with a 3-4 record.
The Buckeyes Last Week
vs. Notre Dame
On Thursday, the Buckeyes topped Notre Dame, 10-9, at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The squad was led by Megan Mirick (So., Burke, Va./Robinson) and Lauren Cochran (So., Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville), who each tallied three goals in the game. Four other Buckeyes added goals in the game, including Shannon Wilson (Fr., Crystal Beach, Ont./Lakeshore Catholic) who had a goal and three assists. OSU goalie Megan Barnett (So., Charlottesville, Va./Albemarle) played the whole 60 minutes and made nine saves.
vs. Regis
On Saturday, 11 different Buckeyes scored to lead Ohio State to a win over the Regis Rangers, 23-0, in Denver. The Buckeyes improved their record to 5-2 on the season with the win. The team was led by Trish Derwart (So., Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) who scored two goals and added five assists. Tracey Bounds (So., Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron), Celeste Cianfrani (Jr., Telford, Pa./Souderton), Gill Grim (Sr., Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights) and Alexia Vogler (Fr., Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) each chipped in three goals in the game. The Buckeyes connected on 23 of 26 shots, while allowing Regis to take only one shot. Barnett played only 16 minutes and didn’t record a save. Stacey Williams (Jr., State College, Pa./State College) finished the game and recorded one save.
vs. Denver
On Sunday, Wilson and Cianfrani combined for 10 goals as Ohio State eased past host Denver 19-5. The win extended the Buckeyes’ winning streak to three games. The Buckeyes reeled off three goals in the final 51 seconds of the first half to take a 9-4 edge at the break. Ohio State took control of the game in the second half, outscoring Denver 10-1 over the last 30 minutes of the game. Wilson paced the Buckeyes offensively with six goals, including four in the first half. Cianfrani added four tallies and three assists for Ohio State, who also got four goals from Mirick and three markers from Cochran. Barnett played all 60 minutes and finished with seven saves. Head Coach Sue Stimmel
Sue Stimmel is in her fifth season as head lacrosse coach at Ohio State. Last season Stimmel led OSU to a stellar 10-5 finish, marking the first 10-win season in the history of Ohio State women’s lacrosse. With a 23-3 win over the Ohio Bobcats April 10, 1999, Stimmel earned her 100th career victory.
Scouting Delaware
The Blue Hens are 6-0 this season and return 17 letterwinners from the 13-5 team last season. This year, the squad has recorded wins over No. 19 Old Dominion, Towson and No. 2 James Madison. The team is led by Sarah Edwards, who is first on the team with 22 goals and three assists. Laurie Tortorelli leads the defense from the goal. She has recorded 48 saves with a save percentage of .527.
Delaware Coach Wescott
Denise Wescott is in her seventh season at the helm for the Blue Hens. Wescott, who owns a six-year record of 67-40 at Delaware, including a 30-9 record in conference play, has led the Blue Hens to three-consecutive America East championships. Before starting her coaching career Wescott was a two-sport standout at the University of Maryland. She captained the field hockey team in 1979 and the lacrosse team in 1980 and was a U.S. Women’s Lacrosse Asssociation All-American in 1980.
The Series
The game Friday afternoon marks the first time these teams have met on the lacrosse field.
Scouting Penn State
The Nittany Lions are 3-4 this season with wins over Lehigh, William and Mary and Lafayette. PSU’s losses came at the hands of lacrosse powerhouses Maryland, James Madison, Virginia and Princeton. The team is led by Shaker Heights, Ohio native Jenn Webb, who is first on the team with 17 goals and eight assists. Megan Ames leads the defense from the cage. She has recorded 94 saves on the season.
Penn State Coach Schnellenbach
Former Penn State assistant coach Karen Schnellenbach was promoted to interim head coach of the women’s lacrosse team in August. She served three years as an assistant at her alma mater. A 1979 Penn State graduate, Schnellenbach helped the Lions win two national championships and was named an All-American.
The Series
Last season Jen Johnson scored three goals to lead the Lions to a 10-8 victory over the Buckeyes at Penn State. Penn State leads the all-time series 3-0.
Buckeyes in the NCAA Rankings
Three Buckeyes made an appearance in the NCAA statistics this week. Cianfrani is ranked No. 15 on the assists list with 12, an average of 1.50 per game. Barnett is ranked No. 2 on the goals-against average list. She has allowed only 47 goals for a 6.46 goals-against average. Wilson made an appearance on the individual game highs list with her eight-point performance against Denver. She scored six goals and added two assists. The Buckeyes as a team were ranked in every team statistics category. They are No. 2 in scoring offense, having scored 126 goals, an average of 15.75 a game. The Buckeyes lead the nation in scoring defense. They have allowed opponents to score 47 goals, an average of 5.87 goals per game. The Buckeyes also lead the nation in scoring margin, outscoring their opponents by 9.90 goals. Ohio State is ranked No. 10 in winning percentage with a 6-2 record.
