| 15 | 16 |
| Holuba Hall | University Park, Pa. | |
| STATISTICS | ||||
| F | |||
| UVA | 10 | 6 | 16 | |
| PSU | 10 | 5 | 15 |
| SHOTS | 1 | 2 |
OT -->FUVA1711- -->28PSU1619- -->35
| SAVES | 1 | 2 |
OT -->FUVA310- -->13PSU54- -->9
| GBs | 1 | 2 |
OT -->FUVA69- -->15PSU54- -->9
| DRAWS | 1 | 2 |
OT -->FUVA116- -->17PSU105- -->15
Feb. 28, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The ninth-ranked Penn State women's lacrosse team went toe-to-toe with No. 8 Virginia, but a goal with four seconds left in the game by UVa's Casey Bocklet handed the Nittany Lions a 16-15 loss on Saturday at Holuba Hall.
"Playing Virginia is always like this," said head coach Missy Doherty. "We always know it's going to be competitive and two teams will be playing really well. It was unfortunate to come out with a loss but they had a chance to win in the last couple seconds. Our team fights for 60 minutes. It doesn't matter how much time is left on the clock, we're going to go hard."
Junior Madison Cyr (Westminster, Md.) scored a game-high five goals for Penn State (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten). Katie O'Donnell's (West Chester, Pa.) goal with 2:26 remaining in the game forced a 15-15 deadlock before Bocklet tallied the game-winner.
Senior Maggie McCormick (Eldersburg, Md.) dished five assists for the Nittany Lions who were looking for their first 4-0 start in six seasons. Virginia's Courtney Swan was a difference maker with eight points on four goals and four assists, while collecting a game-high nine draw con Missy Doherty trols.
Penn State and Virginia (2-2, 1-0 ACC) were never separated by more than two goals and the score was tied on 10 different occasions.
Steph Lazo (Stevensville, Md.) continued her strong start to the season, scoring her 11th goal of the year. Abby Smucker (Bel Air, Md.) netted a hat trick while midfielders Tatum Coffey (Toms River, N.J.) and Kelly Lechner (Silver Spring, Md.) each added two goals.
The Nittany Lions were constantly attacking the net, outshooting the Cavaliers 35-28. Penn State also protected the ball well, turning it over just once in the second half for a game total of six.
Smucker led the defensive effort for Penn State, scooping two ground balls and causing two turnovers. Jenna Mosketti (Fallston, Md.) finished with three draw controls and a caused turnover, and Taylor Bleistein (Bayville, N.Y.) caused a turnover.
The rest of Penn State's goals came from O'Donnell and Maggie Gallagher (Bel Air, Md.) who each scored once.
Cyr was the first to find twine just 63 seconds into the game. Virginia responded with a three-goal run to take a 3-1 lead, their largest of the game. Penn State scored four straight shortly thereafter to take the lead, 6-4. Trailing 10-9 under a minute to play in the first half, Lechner scored her first goal of the game with four seconds left to send the teams to halftime tied at 10.
Smucker scored 44 seconds into the second half to give Penn State the lead, 11-10. Almost ten minutes passed before the next goal was scored, when Cyr's fifth of the game extended Penn State's lead to 12-10.
Trailing 15-14 with less than three minutes left, O'Donnell scored her third career goal to tie the game at 15 with 2:26 to play.
The Nittany Lions and Cavaliers finished close to even in every major category except shots. Penn State won 15 draw controls to Virginia's 17; Virginia picked up 15 ground balls to Penn State's nine; Penn State finished with six turnovers to Virginia's 11. The Nittany Lions were 12-for-14 on the clear, while Virginia finished 14-for-15.
Penn State goalie Emi Smith (Denver, Colo.) finished with nine saves while her counterpart Rachel Vander Kolk had 13 stops, including 10 in the second half. A goal by UVa's Liza Blue two minutes into the first half snapped a shutout streak by Penn State that had stretched to 87:04 of game action.
The Nittany Lions return to action next Saturday, March 7, at Loyola Maryland in their second consecutive game against a ranked opponent. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m.