The Youngstown State women's lacrosse team completed the season sweep of in-state rival Akron with an impressive 18-5 victory at Farmers National Bank Field on Saturday.
The Penguins improve to 5-9 overall and 3-2 in Mid-American Conference play while Akron falls to 1-13 on the season and 0-5 in conference play.
YSU's 13-point win over the Zips matches the largest margin of victory in program history.
Korin scored five goals and made an assist while Erin Clark added three goals and three assists to lead the Guins with six points apiece. Korin scored her 100th point as a Penguin in the contest. Freshman Ally Garrett also recorded a hat trick on the day with three goals.
Abby Yesko, Tristen Chang, and Jade Shearer also found the back of the net multiple times with two scores apiece. Shearer's two goals mark a career-high for the freshman. Jordan Miller also found the back of the net with a sole goal in the contest.
Also scoring points for the Penguins were Taylor Bumstead, Dany Emler, and Tyler Smith who each added an assist in the contest. This marked the first career assist for Emler and was Smith's first career point.
Alexa Beyer caused a turnover and grabbed a game-high three ground balls while Yesko led all players with nine draw controls.
Mikaela Staranko made five saves on the day while giving up five goals for a .500 save percentage. Jacqueline Cornell entered the game mid-fourth-quarter making two saves and holding Akron scoreless through the final minutes of play.
Akron's five goals against the Penguins were scored by five different Zips: Kaija Kunttu, Alexis Kiefer, Macy Vail, Katie Baumer, and Sarah Baumer.
After Akron opened the contest with two unanswered goals, the Penguins would score eight straight before halftime. Korin scored the first YSU goal of the game off an assist from Clark at the 7:26 mark of the first quarter. Clark would find the back of the net with three ticks left on the clock to tie the game, 2-2, headed into the second quarter.
The Penguins held Akron scoreless in the second period while putting up six goals of their own. Korin found the back of the net once before Shearer scored back-to-back goals to give YSU a 5-2 lead with 4:33 remaining in the half. Clark, Miller, and Chang would find the back of the net before halftime to give the Penguins a six-point lead, 8-2, after two quarters of play.
Youngstown State went on a 7-1 run in the third quarter to take a commanding lead over the Zips. Akron opened the period with a quick score before four different Penguins found the back of the net in less than three minutes of play, extending the Penguins' lead to 12-3 at the 9:03 mark of the third. Chang opened the run with her second score of the day when she fired a Clark pass into the net before Emler connected with Garrett for the score. Korin and Yesko also found the back of the net as Korin completed her fifth hat trick of the season.
The Penguins closed out an impressive third quarter with an additional three goals all unassisted by Korin, Garrett, and Yesko. Heading into the final quarter of play, the Guins owned a 15-3 lead over the Zips.
Akron opened the fourth quarter with two goals to make the score 15-5 with 9:54 remaining in the game. YSU would hold Akron scoreless for the remainder of the contest while closing out the game with three unanswered goals. First, Smith connected with Garrett for the score before Clark completed her fifth hat trick of the season. Korin scored her fifth goal of the game to close out the contest with an 18-5 victory for the Penguins.
YSU outdrew the Zips 18-9 while shooting 11 more shots in the contest, 27-16.
Youngstown State will travel to face Central Michigan for a midweek conference matchup at the Central Michigan Soccer/Lacrosse Complex in Mount Pleasant, Mich. First draw against the Chippewas is set for 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
