The Youngstown State women's lacrosse team will make its second trip to the state of Michigan during the 2025 campaign as it will take on the Central Michigan Chippewas on Sunday. The opening draw is set for 12 p.m.

Live stats of the game can be followed along with at YSUSports.com. The game will also be broadcast through Chippewas All Access, a free service provided by Central Michigan. The link for the broadcast can also be found at YSUSports.com.

Last Time Out

The Penguins are coming off their fourth-straight loss, a 15-11 defeat against George Washington last Friday, Apr. 4, at the GW Lacrosse Field in Washington, D.C.

The Penguins were led offensively by the duo of Katie Grottenthaler and Grace Rund. Grottenthaler netted a team-high four goals, while Rund was right behind her in the goal category with three, which set a new season-high.

Mary Gasper netted the first goal of her collegiate career for the Penguins, while Lena Cox, Ava Kreutzer, and Ally Garrett also added one goal each.

Brooke Peck dished out three assists during the game, which is a new career-high for the sophomore.

After setting a new career-high with eight draw controls two games ago vs Robert Morris, Grace Rund had seven draw controls against the Revolutionaries.

Tori Bustamante led the defense with four caused turnovers, while Mackenzie Flannigan had a very balanced day, finishing with three caused turnovers and a team-high three ground balls.

Brooke Harper got the start in the cage and played for the first 51 minutes of the contest, saving four shots while allowing 14 goals. Kara Goertz played the last nine minutes in-goal, saving one shot while allowing one goal.

Friday's contest between the Penguins and the Revolutionaries was a tale of two halves. After George Washington controlled the game's opening draw and marched down the field to score the first goal of the game just 42 seconds into the opening quarter, YSU reeled off five-straight goals from five different players to take a sizeable lead. Ally Garrett scored the first goal for the Penguins off a Brooke Peck pass with 10:30 remaining, followed up by Lena Cox just 35 seconds later, off another Peck pass, to give the Penguins their first lead at the 9:55 mark. Mary Gasper netted her first-career goal with 5:09 remaining, and then two quick goals, the first from Grace Rund at the 3:12 mark, and the next from Katie Grottenthaler 33 seconds later, gave YSU a 5-1 lead with 2:39 remaining on the first-quarter clock. George Washington snapped a 14-minute scoreless drought with just three seconds left in the first quarter, making the score 5-2 YSU at the end of the opening 15 minutes.

The Revolutionaries added the first two goals of the second quarter, cutting their deficit to just one with 7:06 remaining in the second frame, before Grottenthaler scored her second goal of the contest at the 4:05 mark, the lone goal that YSU would score in the quarter, making the score 6-4 in favor of the Penguins. GW added another goal in the final two minutes of the first half, cutting the deficit down to 6-5 heading into the locker room.

The second half was all George Washington. They scored the first five goals of the third quarter, capping off a six-goal run to make the score 10-6 with 3:43 left in the third quarter. Grottenthaler ended the run at the 1:38 mark of the third quarter to make the score 10-7, snapping a scoreless drought of over 17 minutes.

The Revolutionaries scored the first two goals of the final period, before Grottenthaler scored her fourth and final goal of the game with 12:46 left, trying to keep the Penguins in it at 12-8. GW would score the game's next three goals to garner their largest lead of the game at 15-8, before the Penguins scored the game's final three goals, the first from Ava Kreutzer at the 6:11 mark, and the final two from Grace Rund (4:35, 1:40) to cap the game's scoring with a 15-11 GW victory.

About Central Michigan

The Chippewas enter Sunday's contest with a 3-9 record overall and a 2-2 mark in Mid-American Conference play. CMU was defeated by Sanit Francis, 10-8, in their last game on Monday, which snapped a two-game winning streak.

The Chippewas are 3-3 in their last six games after starting the season 0-6, highlighted by a tough non-conference schedule where they faced the likes of No. 13 Notre Dame, Marquette, No. 8 Michigan, and Oregon, and Cincinnati.

CMU has won its last two MAC games, with a 10-9 victory over Eastern Michigan on Mar. 30, and an 11-10 victory over Robert Morris on Apr. 5, after starting 0-2 in conference play.

Looking back at their loss to Saint Francis, it was a game where the Chippewas built themselves a very big hole at the beginning of the game that they couldn't dig out of. After CMU scored the game's opening goal, Saint Francis rattled off six consecutive goals to build a 6-1 lead at the end of the opening quarter.

CMU outscored SFU in the second quarter, 3-1, to cut the deficit to 7-4 at the half.

Central Michigan started off hot in the third quarter, scoring two of the first three goals of the frame, cutting the SFU lead to 8-6 with just under five minutes remaining in the quarter. SFU finished the quarter strong with two goals in the last two minutes, pushing their lead back up to a four-goal advantage.

CMU scored the lone two goals of the fourth quarter, but was held scoreless over the final six minutes, resulting in a 10-8 loss.

Chippewas Stat Leaders Through 10 Games

Points – Skye DePrado (24)

Goals – Skye DePrado (22)

Assists – Celia Dow (9)

Ground Balls – Jozy Allen, Alexa Martel (27)

Caused Turnovers – Ava Regitz (21)

Draw Controls - Jozy Allen (87)

Saves – Alexa Martel (131)

Series History

This will be the sixth meeting all-time between the Penguins and the Chippewas, with Central Michigan leading the series 4-1.  CMU won the lone meeting last season, a 17-11 decision on Mar. 31, 2024, at Farmers National Bank Field in Youngstown.

YSU's lone victory of the series was an 11-10 triumph of the Chippewas on Apr. 18, 2022, at the CMU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex, which was part of a five-game winning streak to end the regular season and give the Penguins a share of the MAC Regular Season title with Central Michigan and Robert Morris.

Looking back at last year's meeting, the beginning of the matchup was a game of runs. CMU scored the game's first four goals, followed by three-straight from YSU, then four more from the Chippewas, and finally three more from the Penguins, to make the score 8-6 CMU halfway through the second quarter.

The Penguins continued to battle from behind, as a Genna Cooke goal at the 9:32 mark of the third quarter cut the lead to 12-9 in favor of CMU, but the Chippewas then rattled off their largest run of the game, scoring five consecutive goals over nine minutes, pushing their lead to 17-9 before YSU would score the final two goals of the game.

Ally Garrett led YSU with three goals, which was her last hat trick to date.

A Win Would

• Give YSU a 6-7 overall record, and a 4-2 record on the road this season.
• Mark the third time in program history that YSU has won at least six games
  1. 2022 – 10
  2. 2023 – 6
  3. 2025 - 5
• Snap a four-game losing streak
• Snap a six-game losing streak in the month of April, dating back to 2023
• Be YSU's first win this season vs. a member of the Mid-American Conference
• Be YSU's first win over Central Michigan since 2022
• Give Head Coach Rob Harris his sixth win at YSU, and his 109th career win.

Sheridan Becomes Program Leader in Career Appearances

With her appearance on Mar. 29 vs. Robert Morris, Molly Sheridan set a new program record for career games played, breaking the former record of 58 set by Jocelyn Fike, who played at YSU from 2021-24. Sheridan currently has 60 career appearances as a Penguin.

Grottenthaler Reaches Free Position Glory

With her four free-position goals vs. George Washington, sophomore Katie Grottenthaler moved into first place in program history in single-season free-position goals with 19.

The old record was 17, set by Ali Korin during the 2022 season.

She also ranks in a tie for second place in career FPG with 23, trailing just Ali Korin (2022-23) and Erin Clark (2021-23), who are tied for the career record with 27.

Grottenthaler's 19 FPG and 1.58 FPG/G on the season both currently rank third in the country.

Penguins on Fire from the Free Position

Overall, Youngstown State has heavily taken advantage of its free position opportunities this season. The Penguins currently rank third in the nation in free position shot percentage at 59.8% (49-for-82). Albany leads the country in that category at 63.2% (24-for-38).

The Penguins rank in a tie for seventh in the nation in free-position goals with 47.

Penguins Rank Highly Across the MAC in Goals Scored and Caused Turnovers

Youngstown State has shone across the MAC both offensively and defensively this season.

Goals Scored – 160 (1st MAC)

Caused Turnovers – 118 (2nd MAC)

• The Penguins rank 23rd nationally in caused turnovers per game (9.83)

Grottenthaler Leads the Offensive Attack

Sophomore Katie Grottenthaler has had an exceptional sophomore season, leading the Penguins and ranking fourth in the MAC with 34 goals through 12 games. She has eclipsed her goal total from her freshman season when she scored 17 goals in 16 games.

If the season ended today, her 34 goals would already rank in a tie for sixth in program history in single-season goals.

Grottenthaler also ranks fourth in the MAC in draw controls per game with 4.75, and she is fifth in draw controls with 57.

Cox's Field Vision is Superb

Sophomore Lena Cox has done an exceptional job setting up goals this season for the Penguins, as she ranks second in the MAC in both assists with 20 and assists per game with 1.67.

Cox also ranks third in the MAC in total points with 39, as she has scored 19 goals to go along with her 20 assists.

If the season ended today, her 20 assists would rank fourth in program history in single-season assists.

Bustamante Spearheads the Defense

Sophomore Tori Bustamante has had an outstanding first season in Youngstown after transferring from Molloy University, as she currently leads the MAC in both caused turnovers (28) and caused turnovers per game (2.33).

She has eight more caused turnovers than any other player in the conference, and she is the only player in the MAC averaging at least 2.00 CT/G.

Bustamante has caused at least three turnovers six times this season, and has garnered a season-high four CT on four occasions, including the last game vs. George Washington.

Looking at her numbers from a national scale, Bustamante ranks in a tie for 13th in both caused turnovers and caused turnovers per game.

She also leads the team in ground balls with 27.

If the season ended today, her 28 caused turnovers would rank second in program history in single-season CT. The record is held by Natalie Calandra-Ryan, who had 37 CT in 2022.

Penguins Statistical Leaders

Points:

1. Lena Cox - 39

2. Katie Grottenthaler – 38

3. Brooke Peck – 25

Goals:

1. Katie Grottenthaler – 34

2. Ava Kreutzer – 22

3. Brooke Peck – 20

Assists:

1. Lena Cox – 20

T-2. Mia Yuris – 5

T-2. Brooke Peck – 5

Ground Balls:

1. Tori Bustamante – 27

2. Katie Grottenthaler – 21

3. Claire Baenziger – 17

Caused Turnovers:

1. Tori Bustamante – 28

2. Mackenzie Flannigan – 16

T-3: Meghan McGrath - 10

T-3. Molly Sheridan – 10

Draw Controls:

1. Katie Grottenthaler – 57

2. Grace Rund – 33

3. Genna Cooke - 22

MAC Weekly Award Selections:

Katie Grottenthaler, Offensive Player of the Week (3-11)

Lena Cox – Co-Offensive Player of the Week (2-18)

Katie Grottenthaler - Co-Offensive Player of the Week (2-11)

Tara McHugh – Defensive Player of the Week (2-11)

Roster Outlook

Youngstown State boasts a 30-player roster with 17 newcomers and just 13 returnees from the 2024 squad. Five of the 17 newcomers are transfers, while the other 12 are true freshmen.  Seven of the 13 returnees started in at least 10 games last season. The Penguins return five major statistical category leaders from last season, including the team's top attacker from last season, Lena Cox. Cox led the Penguins as a freshman last season in goals (25), assists (10), points (35), and shots on goal (44). YSU also returns Genna Cooke, who led the Penguins in draw controls as a freshman last season with 40.

Class Breakdown:

Freshmen (12): Claire Baenziger, Mary Gasper, Sami Drew, Lexy Koslakiewicz, Jacella Nephew, Meghan McGrath, Tara McHugh, Kaylie Moore, Stella Rohrbaugh, Bailey Doorhy, Liz Amos, Kara Goertz

Sophomores (10): Gwen Bogash, Lena Cox, Mackenzie Flannigan, Katie Grottenthaler, Tori Bustamante, Ava Kreutzer, Grace Rund, Brooke Peck, Mia Yuris, Genna Cooke

Juniors (5): Brooke Harper, Skylar Pigrom, Ally Garrett, Mia Stahl, Emma Hoffman

Seniors (3): Mia Kuzdzal, Molly Sheridan, Grace Manser

First-Year Transfers in Youngstown

Youngstown State was very busy during the offseason transfer portal window, bringing in five talented transfers to help complete this season's roster.

0 Brooke Harper (Jr.) – Previous School: Hood College

Harper started in all 31 games that she appeared in as a goalkeeper over her two seasons at Division III Hood College. She led the Blazers in saves in each season, totaling 117 saves as a freshman in 2023, and 112 saves as a sophomore in 2024. She had 10 performances over her time at Hood College where she corralled double-digit saves, including a career-high 14 saves twice.

She has appeared in 11 games this season, starting in seven. She currently leads the team with 54 saves, including a season-high 11 saves vs. Robert Morris in YSU's last home game on Mar. 29.

3 Gwen Bogash (So.) – Previous School: Notre Dame College (Ohio)

Bogash burst onto the scene during her freshman season at Division II Notre Dame College in 2024, finishing in a tie for the team lead in goals on the season with 27, while also finishing second on the team in assists with 34. She had eight multi-goal performances on the season, including a season-high eight goals vs. Davis & Elkins on Mar. 27, which tied for the second-most goals scored in a game in program history.

She has appeared in four games this season, including making her first start of the season in the last game vs George Washington. She netted her lone goal of the season vs. Akron on Mar. 16.

7 Mackenzie Flannigan (So.) – Previous School: Kent State

Flannigan comes to Youngstown State after spending the 2024 season at fellow MAC school Kent State. She made one appearance last season vs. Cincinnati on Feb. 10. She was named to the Academic All-MAC Team.

She has appeared in all 12 games this season, starting in the first 11, and currently ranks second on the team in caused turnovers with 16 while also scooping up 16 ground balls.

12 Tori Bustamante (So.) – Previous School: Molloy University

Bustamante had a sensational freshman season at Division II Molloy University in 2024, as she was named the East Coast Conference Rookie of the Year. She appeared in all 16 games on the season, starting the final nine contests. Bustamante was a very versatile player for the Lions as she contributed both offensively and defensively, totaling 27 points on the season on 18 goals and 9 assists, while also ranking second on the team in ground balls with 35, and fifth on the team in caused turnovers with 18. She scored a goal in 12 contests, including netting a season-high four goals vs. Dist. Columbia on Apr. 20. She collected at least three ground balls in six games.

She has made a major impact for the Penguins through the first 12 games, as she currently leads the MAC with 28 caused turnovers and leads the team in ground balls with 27.

34 Mia Yuris (So.) – Previous School: Notre Dame College (Ohio)

Like fellow Penguin Gwen Bogash, Yuris joined the Youngstown State program after spending the 2024 season at Notre Dame College. She started in her sole appearance of the season vs. Thomas More on Feb. 18, which was the season-opener.

She has appeared in 10 games thus far this season and has had two multi-goal performances this season. She has accumulated 12 points total, scoring seven goals and dishing out five assists.

Penguins Tied for Sixth in Preseason MAC Poll

Youngstown State was picked to finish in a tie for sixth in the 2025 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Preseason Coaches Poll, the conference announced on Feb. 5.

2025 MAC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll
(First Place Votes)
1. Robert Morris (4) - 34 points
2. Central Michigan (2) - 31 points
3. Eastern Michigan (1) - 26 points
4. Kent State - 18 points
5. Detroit Mercy - 16 points
T6. Akron - 11 points
T6. Youngstown State – 11 points

Tournament Champion: Central Michigan - 3, Eastern Michigan - 2, Robert Morris - 2

Guins Return Two Members of 2024 MAC All-Freshman Team

During a 2024 season where multiple young players saw significant playing time, Youngstown State boasted three members of the Mid-American Conference's All-Freshman Team at the season's end, two of whom have made their return to Youngstown for their sophomore seasons. Lena Cox, the team's leader in goals, assists, and points last season, scored nine goals and dished out five assists in MAC play. Joining Cox on the All-Freshman Team was Katie Grottenthaler, who scored nine of 17 goals on the season during conference play.

Up Next

The Penguins will return home for a matchup with Detroit Mercy on Senior Day, Saturday, April 19, at Farmers National Bank Field in Youngstown. The opening draw is scheduled for Noon, with the Senior Day festivities taking place prior to the game.

For news and updates throughout the 2025 women's lacrosse season, follow @YSUwlax on X .