The Youngstown State women's lacrosse team earned their first win of the season over Saint Francis by a score of 19-10 on Sunday afternoon at the Watson and Tressel Training Site.
Eight different Penguins found the back of the net, including Claire Baenziger and Lena Cox, who led the Penguins with four goals each.
Katie Grottenthaler and Ava Kreutzer added three goals each, Sami Drew scored the first two goals of her collegiate career, and Emma Hoffman and Mia Yuris added the other two YSU goals.
Tori Bustamante had a spectacular game defensively, causing a team-high three turnovers and tying for the team lead with three ground ball recoveries. Meghan McGrath also had three ground balls.
Genna Cooke led the Penguins with eight draw controls, while Grottenthaler had seven.
Freshman Liz Amos was huge in the cage, coming in off the bench in the first quarter and playing the rest of the game. She had five saves while being credited with her first-career win in goal.
It was all SFU early on, as they scored five of the game's first six goals, jumping out to a 5-1 lead with 6:26 remaining in the opening period. Lena Cox made the score 5-2 as she scored with 5:39 remaining in the first, and Sami Drew netted her first collegiate goal shortly after with 4:54 remaining in the quarter to make the score 5-3. Sant Francis would score a goal with just nine seconds remaining in the quarter, pushing their lead out to 6-3.
Youngstown State's offense came alive in the second quarter, as Cox scored the first two goals of the quarter to cut the lead to 7-6, and Ava Kreutzer scored the game-tying goal with 5:04 remaining in the second quarter. After a Red Flash goal from Christina Roncarati with 4:31 remaining in the quarter to give Saint Francis the lead back, YSU would go on to score the final two goals of the quarter, a Katie Grottenthaler goal with 2:36 remaining, and a Claire Baenziger goal with 1:04 remaining, to take a 9-8 lead heading into halftime.
The Penguins' offense picked up in the third quarter where they left off in the second, as they would score the opening five goals of the third quarter. Brooke Peck started the scoring with her first goal of the game with 11:56 remaining, followed by Grottenthaler's third goal of the game (10:29), Kreutzer's second goal (8:42), Cox's fourth goal (7:04), and Baenziger's second goal of the game with 6:27 remaining in the quarter capped off a 7-0 run that stretched back to the second quarter. Saint Francis ended the Penguins run when Julia Givens found the back of the net with 4:31 remaining, but the Penguins quickly answered with three goals in the final 1:20 of the third quarter to build their lead. Kreutzer notched a hat trick with 1:20 left in the quarter, Mia Yuris added her first goal of the game with 51 seconds remaining, and Baenziger locked up a hat trick with just 16 seconds remaining in the period. YSU led 17-9 after three quarters of action.
The Penguins tried to play keep-away for much of the fourth quarter, as there were only three combined goals from the two teams. Emma Hoffman scored her first goal of the season with 10:41 remaining in regulation, and Baenziger added her career-high fourth goal, the final of the day, with 6:06 left to make the score 19-10, where it would stand as the final score.
The victory marks the first for Youngstown State since a 20-8 victory over Detroit Mercy on Apr. 22, 2023.
YSU dominated the draw controls throughout the day, finishing with 22, compared to just 11 for SFU.
YSU also outshot the Red Flash, 33-22.
The Penguins will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 19, when they welcome the Duquesne Dukes to the Watson and Tressel Training Site. The opening draw is set for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Youngstown State Penguins YouTube page. Fans in attendance will receive a YSU clear tote bag, courtesy of Varsity Club, Medical Mutual, and 21WFMJ.
For news and updates throughout the 2025 women's lacrosse season, follow @YSUwlax on X .
