April 14, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Led by a six-point outing from sophomore attacker Maggie McCormick (Eldersburg, Md.), the No. 7 Penn State women's lacrosse team outlasted Ohio State, 14-12, at the Penn State Lacrosse Field Sunday afternoon. The Nittany Lions (9-4, 3-1 ALC) improved to 3-1 in ALC play for the first time since 2006 with their eighth straight victory against the Buckeyes (6-7, 1-3 ALC).
In a tightly-contested match with nine ties, neither team generated more than a two-goal lead. Ohio State grabbed its largest advantage at 4-2 with 13:46 left in the first half before Penn State tied the game at 4-4 with 10:13 remaining in the frame. The Nittany Lions twice pushed their lead to two strikes before Ohio State fired back with its second and final lead with 13:50 left in regulation.
After Ohio State took a 12-11 advantage, sophomore midfielder Kelly Lechner (Silver Spring, Md.), who netted her third hat trick of the season, tied the game with 12:01 remaining before McCormick and freshman Jenna Mosketti (Fallston, Md.) closed out the contest with the game's final goals. Mosketti struck twice against the Buckeyes, while she and Lechner collected a game-high four ground balls each.
Senior Molly Fernandez (Baltimore, Md.) added a pair of goals during the Senior Day victory, while freshman goalkeeper Emi Smith (Denver, Colo.) corralled eight shots. With three assists, junior attacker Mackenzie Cyr (Westminster, Md.) recorded a point in her 20th straight game and moved into a tie for ninth place on the program's all-time assists list (63).
Penn State outshot the Buckeyes, 30-25, and won the ground-ball battle by a 21-12 margin. Ohio State was 18-for-27 on draws and 5-for-8 on clears, while Penn State successfully executed 10-of-13 clearing attempts. Cara Facchina led the Buckeyes with four points (2g, 2a), while Tori DeScenza made eight saves.
Fernandez opened the scoring for Penn State 3:22 into the game, but the Buckeyes scored four of the next five goals en route to a 4-2 advantage. Kelsea Ayers tallied back-to-back markers for Ohio State, while Katie Chase and Mary Kate Facchina followed McCormick's first of five goals with one strike each. Cyr added an assist on the McCormick marker.
Following Facchina's tally with 13:46 remaining, McCormick converted a free-position shot with 12:53 left. Just 2:40 later, the Eldersburg, Md., native tied the game at 4-4 after scoring off a feed from Cyr. At 23:03 of the frame, Lechner gave Penn State a 5-4 advantage.
After Cara Facchina tied the game 56 seconds later, Penn State finished the half on a 3-2 run. Mosketti netted her first of the game with 4:39 left before Kaila Gottlick tied the game for Ohio State 51 seconds later. Sophomore midfielder Tatum Coffey (Toms River, N.J.) gave the Nittany Lions a 7-6 lead just 27 seconds after Gottlick's strike. McCormick extended the lead to 8-6 with her fourth goal before Chase brought the Buckeyes back to within a tally with 28 seconds left.
In the second stanza, Ayers tied the game 55 seconds after the opening draw, but freshman Madison Cyr (Westminster, Md.) and Lechner pushed the Nittany Lion advantage to 10-8 with 21:16 remaining.
Mary Kate and Cara Facchina connected on back-to-back markers as Ohio State tied the game for the fifth time before Fernandez gave Penn State an 11-10 lead with a free-position marker.
Ohio State struck twice in a 1:34 span as it took a 12-11 advantage. Ayers netted her fourth goal with 15:25 left in the game before Cara Facchina hit the back of the net with 13:50 remaining.
With 12:01 on the clock, Lechner tied the game before McCormick and Cyr connected once more at 19:29. With 3:03 remaining in the game, Mosketti added her second tally to account for the 14-12 final.
The Nittany Lions, who pushed their home record to 6-0, will host Lafayette in their regular-season home finale Wednesday, April 17. Opening draw is set at 7p.m.