March 12, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Junior Katie O'Donnell (West Chester, Va.) tied a career-high with six points on four goals and two assists, but No. 6 Penn State fell to No. 10 Colorado, 16-11, in non-conference women's lacrosse action this afternoon inside Holuba Hall.
The Buffaloes (7-0) opened the scoring as Katie Macleay found the back of the net at the 26:07 mark for the 1-0 lead marking just the second time all season the Nittany Lions have been unable to strike first.
PSU (7-1) came right back, however, and score the next four consecutive goals as seniors Abby Smucker (Bel Air, Md.) and Steph Lazo (Stevensville, Md.) and sophomore Madison Carter (Davidsonville, Md.) and O'Donnell each scored to give the Lions the 4-1 lead at the 18:49 mark.
After a Cali Castagnola score for the visitors it was junior Maggie Gallagher (Bel Air, Md.) scoring back-to-back goals just 20 seconds apart to give Penn State the 6-2 lead halfway through the first half.
Colorado responded scoring three of the final four goals of the first half as the second goal of the game by O'Donnell was the only Nittany Lion score during that 15 minute span and Penn State took the 7-5 lead into the intermission.
The second half was all Colorado as they began to control the draw and senior goaltender Paige Soenksen made many huge saves as the Buffs pulled away. Darby Kiernan scored just 26 second into the second half and Johnna Fusco tied the contest at 27:19 before O'Donnell gave the hosts the lead back at 25:25.
However, that was the last lead the Nittany Lions would have as Colorado scored the next seven goals including four from Miranda Stinson and two from Kiernan to grab the commanding 14-8 score.
Carter and O'Donnell then added two quick scores as Penn State attempted a comeback, but Kiernan and Stinson potted two more goals for the visitors and a late score by Carter wasn't enough as Colorado escaped with the 16-11 victory.
Penn State was outshot for just the second time all season, 35-31, but held the 27-24 edge in shots on target. Colorado controlled the ground balls (24-20) and the draw controls (16-13) marking just the first time all season the Nittany Lions haven't won the draw battle.
Senior Cat Rainone (Newtown Square, Pa.) stopped eight shots, but falls to 6-1 with the loss while Soenksen made 16 saves to improve to 7-0.
Senior Natalie Schmitt (Malvern, Pa.) collected a team-high four ground balls on the defensive side while sophomore Kayla Brisolari (Crofton, Md.) secured a pair of ground balls to go along with a game-best three caused turnovers. Carter collected seven draws and had three ground balls for an all around solid performance.
Penn State returns to action next weekend as they open Big Ten Conference play against Rutgers with a 1 p.m. tilt at the Penn State Lacrosse Field.