The Youngstown State women's lacrosse team used offensive firepower to surge to a 20-9 victory over Detroit Mercy on Senior Day inside the Watson and Tressel Training Site.

The 20 goals scored by the Penguins are tied for the third-most goals scored in a single game in program history, and the most that the Penguins have scored since 2023.

Five Penguins had at least a hat trick, led by Brooke Peck, who tied a season-high with four goals. Lena Cox, Ava Kreutzer, Grace Rund, and Mia Yuris had the other hat tricks on the day, while Katie Grottenthaler added two goals, and Mary Gasper and Molly Sheridan each added one. Sheridan's goal was her first of the season.

YSU had six assists as a team, the second-most they have had this season, only trailing the seven they had against Butler on Feb. 28. Cox and Grottenthaler tied a team-high with two assists, while Kreutzer and Gwen Bogash each had one.

Tori Bustamante had a strong performance defensively, tying a season-high with six ground balls, while also causing three turnovers. Mackenzie Flannigan was all over the field defensively as well, finishing the game with four ground balls.

Brooke Harper recorded her third win of the season in the cage, recording eight saves while allowing nine goals.

The Penguins jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Brooke Peck got the Penguins on the board first, just 53 seconds into the contest, off a pass from Gwen Bogash. Her goal was followed up by Ava Kreutzer at the 11:35 mark, as she quickly fired a shot into the back of the net off a feed from Lena Cox. After the Titans got on the board with 10:04 remaining in the opening quarter, the Penguins reeled off seven consecutive goals to build a very sizeable advantage. The first four goals of the run came in the first quarter, as Mary Gasper scored to push the lead to 3-1 with 6:43 remaining. Her goal was followed by an Ava Kreutzer goal just 35 seconds later at the 6:08 mark, and then Brooke Peck added her second goal of the quarter with 4:45 left, making the score 5-1. Both goals were assisted by Katie Grottenthaler. Lena Cox wrapped up the scoring in the opening quarter with a buzzer-beating goal with just one second left, giving YSU a 6-1 lead at the first intermission.

The Penguins picked up where they left off to begin the second quarter, as Mia Yuris took advantage of YSU being a player-up, scoring just 48 seconds into the quarter. Her goal was followed by Brooke Peck's third of the game with 13:33 left, and Lena Cox's second of the game at the 11:41 mark, making the score 9-1 YSU, and wrapping up the seven-goal run. Detroit Mercy snapped their scoreless streak of 15 minutes as they added a goal with 9:31 left in the second quarter. Ava Kreutzer gave the Penguins double-digit goals just over one minute later with 8:24 remaining, making the score 10-2. UDM's offense then went on their biggest scoring run of the game, reeling off three straight goals over a span of 90 seconds, cutting the deficit down to 10-5 at the 3:46 mark of the quarter. YSU finished the half in strong fashion, as Grace Rund scored twice in the final 3:11, giving the Penguins a 12-5 lead heading into halftime.

The Titans came out of the locker room with two quick goals offensively to cut the lead to 12-7, before Mia Yuris scored the first goal of the second half for YSU at the 6:21 mark of the third quarter. The Titans answered Yuris' goal 44 seconds later to trim the deficit back down to five at 13-8, which would be the closest that UDM would get for the remainder of the game. YSU would add three more goals before the end of the quarter, the first coming from Rund, her third of the day, with 3:55 remaining in the quarter, and Katie Grottenthaler's first two goals of the day in the final 2:08, extending the lead to 16-8 heading into the final period.

YSU added four more goals in the final quarter from four different players, the first coming from Cox, her third of the game with 12:59 left, followed by Peck, who tied a season-high with her fourth goal of the game with 2:12 left, Yuris' season-high third goal with 1:15 left, and Molly Sheridan wrapped up the scoring on her Senior Day with 26 seconds left, netting her first goal of the season to wrap up a storybook afternoon at the WATTS, 20-9 in favor of the Penguins.

YSU fired 35 shots on the day, which ties the ninth-most in a single game in program history. 27 of their shots were on-goal, which is tied for the 10th most in a single game.

The teams were even in draw controls at 13 heading into the fourth quarter before YSU controlled all five in the final frame.

The Penguins will wrap up the 2025 season next Saturday, Apr. 26, on the road at Kent State. The opening draw is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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