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PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The eighth-ranked Penn State women's lacrosse team suffered a 16-10 loss to No. 14 Stanford on Sunday afternoon at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. The Cardinal produced an 8-1 run that spanned each side of halftime to earn the victory.
The Nittany Lions (7-2) never led as the teams traded mini 2-0 and 3-0 spurts throughout the first half. After Madison Cyr's (Westminster, Md.) second goal of the game brought PSU within one at 8-7 with 5:07 remaining, Stanford rattled off the final four goals of the half for a 12-7 lead.
After Maggie Gallagher (Bel Air, Md.) scored the opening goal of the second half, Stanford (5-1) scored three goals in a one-minute span for a 15-8 lead and added another eight minutes later for its largest lead of the game, 16-8. The Cardinal were led by Lucy Dikeou who had four goals and an assist.
Cyr's two-goal game allowed her to reach 30 goals for a third straight season. Her total was matched by Katie O'Donnell (West Chester, Pa.) and Jenna Mosketti (Fallston, Md.). Penn State had seven goal scorers in all including Natalie Schmitt (Malvern, Pa.), who scored her first goal since 2014. Madison Carter (Davidsonville, Md.) and Ally Heavens (Garnet Valley, Pa.) rounded out the scoring, while Steph Lazo (Stevensville, Md.) notched the team's two assists.
Penn State held a 30-27 advantage in shots, but fell behind in draw controls (17-10), ground balls (17-13) and connected on just 3-of-9 free-position shots. The Nittany Lions also hit four posts during the game.
Stanford's Allie DaCar made nine saves, seven of which came in the second half as Penn State tried to mount a rally. Penn State's goalies combined for five saves with starter Emi Smith (Denver, Colo.) making three stops and Cat Rainone (Newtown Square, Pa.) stopping two.
Penn State will have a 10-day layoff before hosting Drexel in a non-conference game on Wednesday, March 30. That game is set for a 7 p.m. opening draw at Penn State Lacrosse Field