Carter Leads Lions To Win

    Penn State took down Winthrop on Friday evening to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
    Madison Carter and Steph Lazo scored four times each as the Nittany Lions defeated the Eagles, 16-6.
    The Eagles (20-3) tore through the competition this season, scoring as many as 28 goals in one game against Radford.
    But they hadn't seen an opponent of the Lions' (12-6) caliber, and it showed as Emi Smith stifled the Eagles' high-flying offense. Smith saved seven of just 13 shots on goal for a .538 save percentage.
    The Lions launched 28 shots against Eagles goaltender Alaina Girani, who finished with a .429 save percentage.
     The Eagles' leading scorer Shannon Gallagher tallied the first goal after 2:12 of play, but Carter, Lazo and Madison Cyr answered to build a lead that the Lions never gave up. Cyr scored twice more before halftime, to give the Lions a 9-5 lead.
    Over five minutes elapsed in the second half before the Eagles' Katie Clark put her team within three. From there, though, it was all Lions. They scored seven unanswered goals, including three by Lazo.Z
    Carter scored twice and Maggie Gallagher and Katie O'Donnell each found the back of the net before time expired. Lazo also notched three assists, while Cyr had two.
    The No. 15 Nittany Lions will face No. 2 Florida (18-1), the Big East champions, at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Gators fell in the second round of the tournament last year, while the Lions made it to the quarterfinals.
    The Gators suffered their only loss of the season against Maryland, the Big Ten regular season champion. The Terrapins beat the Gators in Gainesville on March 19 before topping the Lions in Happy Valley on April 28.