By Marissa Masano / The Jambar
With only two regular season games remaining, the Youngstown State University women’s lacrosse team traveled to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, to take on Mid-American Conference opponent Central Michigan University on April 13.
The Penguins fell to the Chippewas, 13-8. Sophomore Katie Grottenthaler, who set a new single-season program record for 19 free position goals against George Washington University, added three more against Central Michigan to extend her total.
Grottenthaler continued to make her mark in program history, becoming the first Penguin since 2023 to record at least a hat trick in seven consecutive games. Sophomore Grace Rund notched her third consecutive multi-goal game with two scores.
Defensively, sophomore Mackenzie Flannigan recorded a season-high six ground balls and tied her season best with four caused turnovers.
All three Penguin goalkeepers saw action in the contest, but freshman Liz Amos led the group with five saves, tying her season high.
YSU got on the board early in the first quarter when sophomore Lena Cox connected with freshman Claire Baenziger just 53 seconds into the game. However, CMU quickly responded with two goals in under a minute to take its first lead.
Grottenthaler scored her first goal of the game to cut the Chippewas’ lead to one, but CMU added two more to end the quarter with a 4-2 advantage.
The Penguins opened the second quarter with two goals from Rund to tie the game at four. Sophomore Brooke Peck followed with a goal to give YSU a 5-4 lead — its last of the afternoon. CMU responded with four unanswered goals to head into halftime with an 8-5 lead.
YSU came out strong in the third quarter, with sophomore Ava Kreutzer scoring just five seconds in. The Chippewas, however, answered with three straight goals to extend their lead to 11-7.
Grottenthaler completed her hat trick early in the fourth quarter, but it would be the final goal of the game for the Penguins. CMU added two more scores to seal its third conference win.
YSU outshot CMU 30-26 and recorded three more shots on goal, but the Chippewas held the edge in draw controls and free position shots.
The Penguins will celebrate their seniors at noon April 19 during senior day against the University of Detroit Mercy.
