April 13, 2014
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COLUMBUS, Ohio - The eighth-ranked Penn State women's lacrosse team was edged by No. 17 Ohio State, 10-9, Sunday afternoon at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus. The Nittany Lions fall to 8-6 overall and 2-3 in the ALC, while the Buckeyes now are 11-4 on the season and 4-1 in the conference.
The Lions were led by Maggie McCormick's five points (1g, 4a) with Kelly Lechner and Abby Smucker each tallying a team-high two goals. They bolstered the offense's six-goal run that gave Penn State a four-goal lead by early in the second half.
The Buckeyes, however, used a five-goal run of their own over the final 19:36 of action to come back from a 9-5 second-half deficit and earn their first win in nine series meetings.
The four-goal advantage had been Penn State's largest of the day after it used six-consecutive scores spanning the periods to open up what had been an even first half. The teams traded tallies through the opening 15 minutes before Ohio State took a 5-3 lead at the 14:27 mark.
Lechner started off the comeback some four minutes later with an unassisted score and the Lions rattled off four more before the close of the half. Smucker produced back-to-back goals in the run, followed by scores from Jenna Mosketti and McCormick for an 8-5 lead heading into halftime.
Mackenzie Cyr continued the run with the first goal of the second half, finding the back of the net off an assist by Jess Loizeaux with 22:22 to play. Ohio State would hold the Lions scoreless the rest of the way, however, picking up the next five goals and each of the ensuing draw controls.
Katie Chase had a game-high four goals for Ohio State, while Jackie Cifarelli produced six points off a goal and five assists.
Penn State out-shot Ohio State 24-19 on the day and had a narrow 16-15 margin in groundballs. The Buckeyes led 10-9 in draw controls with the Lions owning just one in the second half.
The Lions close out the regular season with back-to-back home contests, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, April 18 vs. Johns Hopkins on the Big Ten Network. The finale will come at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 26 vs. Princeton in the second half of a doubleheader with the PSU men's lacrosse team. Both games are scheduled for the Penn State Lacrosse Field.