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EVANSTON, Ill. –- The second-seeded and 10th-ranked Nittany Lion women's lacrosse team went cold offensively as third-seeded and No. 15 Northwestern took the Big Ten Semifinal, 9-6, on Friday night at Martin Stadium.
Alexis Phillips (Riva, Md.) scored a career-high two goals to pace the Lions offense, while reserve netminder Cat Rainone (Newtown Square, Pa.) made four stops with just one goal allowed to try and spark a Penn State (11-6) comeback.
Northwestern (10-8) defeated the Nittany Lions for the first time in four tries and advanced to the Big Ten Championship game vs. No. 1 Maryland on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Penn State awaits its NCAA Tournament fate when the selection show takes place Sunday night at 9 p.m.
Joining Phillips on the ledger with a multi-point outing was Madison Cyr (Westminster, Md.) as she scored a goal and an assist, while forcing a game-high four caused turnovers.
In the end, a 5-1 run from 6:11 left in the first half until the 17:50 mark in the second half was enough for Northwestern. The Wildcats also killed off two yellow cards late in the second half to stall a potential Penn State comeback after the Nittany Lions had trimmed a five-goal deficit to three.
The tale of the opening half was that of Northwestern putting away its chances, scoring on five of its seven shots on goal, while Penn State committed 11 turnovers and scored just twice on five shots on goal.
The Wildcats staked a 3-0 lead on a pair of goals by Danita Stroup and another by Nancy Dunbar after only 10 minutes. Katie O'Donnell (West Chester, Pa.) responded 19 seconds later, putting away a Cyr offering.
Northwestern regained its three-goal margin 65 seconds later when Kaleigh Craig put away a free-position shot with 18:32 remaining. It would be 12 minutes before another goal was scored and it was Cyr dashing through the defense for her 48th of the year.
NU's Selena Lasota won the ensuing draw and scored 10 seconds later to re-establish the three-goal cushion, 5-2. The two teams went into the break at the same score as Northwestern held a 13-9 edge in shots, 3-2 in saves and 12-8 in ground balls. PSU had a decisive 6-2 advantage in draw controls, but were undone by turnovers in its offensive set.
The second half saw Northwestern start on a 3-1 run to stretch the lead to 8-3 with 17:50 remaining. PSU's goal during that run was a Madison Carter (Davidsonville, Md.) one-timer from fellow freshman Kelly Daggett (Bainbridge, Pa.).
Rainone came on in place of Emi Smith (Denver, Colo.) who made three saves and scooped a ground ball in 42 minutes of work. Rainone immediately made a save to kick start PSU's rally.
The Nittany Lions started to chip away at the lead starting with Phillips' third goal of the season with 15:20. The freshman put away an 8-meter shot as the Lions trailed 8-4.
Three minutes later, Jenna Mosketti (Fallston, Md.) took a Steph Lazo (Stevensville, Md.) feed, spun and scored her 27th of the year with 12:01 remaining. Mosketti finished with a team-high four draw controls and two caused turnovers.
With less than six minutes remaining, Lazo drew a yellow card from Ally Mueller, who fouled her off the ball and set up an 8-meter attempt. On the ensuing try, Shannon Nesselbush cross-checked Lazo and was assessed a yellow card, setting up a two-player advantage.
Lazo was unable to convert the free-position shot as Mallory Weisse (10 saves) made the stop. Northwestern called timeout and was able to clear after the break to run out the disadvantage. Kaleigh Craig eventually scored for a 9-5 advantage.
Phillips nabbed her second of the day, bouncing home her second of the night from the free-position with 1:10 remaining in the game.
Northwestern became the first team this season to out-shoot Penn State with a 24-21 advantage. The Wildcats also had edges in ground balls (20-18) and saves (10-7). Penn State committed 17 turnovers for the game and won the draw control battle, 9-8.
GAME NOTES
• Penn State met Northwestern for the eighth time in the last 10 years in a conference tournament. The Nittany Lions' three-game winning streak vs. NU was snapped. The Wildcats have a 20-7 advantage in the all-time series.
• The Nittany Lions scored fewer than 10 goals for just the third time this season (0-3). The last time PSU scored in single-digits in back-to-back games was March 30-April 4 at No. 4 Florida (L, 13-9) and vs. No. 6 Northwestern (L, 5-4)
• Madison Cyr has scored in every game this season and is currently on a 26-game scoring streak dating back to last year. This season, Cyr has tallied at least two points in every game and has 10 hat tricks.
• Cyr's goal brings her career total to 145 which has her in sole position for 8th all-time at Penn State. Her two points brought her career total to 184 for 15th all-time at Penn State. Cyr has a career-high 65 points this season.
• Madison Carter has scored in 16 of 17 games this season. Carter now has 40 goals this season.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State will look for an at-large big to the NCAA Tournament when the selection show takes place Sunday night at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com. The Nittany Lions are seeking their fifth straight bid under head coach Missy Doherty and 22nd overall appearance.