Feb. 10, 2018
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| SHOTS | 1st | 2nd | Final |
| #4 Penn State | 20 | 18 | 38 |
| #19 Towson | 16 | 8 | 24 |
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| SAVES | 1st | 2nd | Final |
| #4 Penn State | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| #19 Towson | 4 | 3 | 7 |
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| GROUND BALLS | 1st | 2nd | Final |
| #4 Penn State | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| #19 Towson | 13 | 11 | 24 |
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| DRAWS | 1st | 2nd | Final |
| #4 Penn State | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| #19 Towson | 8 | 5 | 13 |
TOWSON, Md. - Junior Madison Carter (Davidsonville, Md.) tied her career-high with six goals, but it was not enough as the 19th-ranked Towson Tigers held off No. 4 Penn State down the stretch to earn the 14-13 victory in non-conference action this afternoon from Johnny Unitas Stadium to open up the 2018 season.
Down 14-9 after a Carly Tellekamp goal with 6:55 to play in the second half, Penn State (0-1) rallied behind senior captain Katie O'Donnell (West Chester, Pa.) nearly earning the comeback victory.
Sophomore Maria Auth (Street, Md.) ripped home a free-position attempt and Carter finished out front after a brilliant feed from junior Kayla Brisolari (Crofton, Md.) for the 14-11 deficit with just 2:16 remaining.
O'Donnell then took over finding the back of the net with just 48 seconds remaining before collecting the ensuing draw and racing the entire length of the field to beat Tiger net-minder Kiley Keating low just 10 seconds later for the 14-13 score.
Brisolari won the draw again and got the ball down the field, but a great back-check by Sami Chenoweth just outside the eight-meter caused a turnover and Towson was able to hold the ball until the final horn to secure the victory.
After a rather slow start from both teams, Penn State opened the scoring at the 25:00 mark of the first half as Carter ripped home a free-position shot for the 1-0 lead.
However, Towson (1-0) came right back scoring three-straight goals from three separate players to grab the 3-1 lead before freshman Sophia Triandafils (Wading River, N.Y.) fired home her first collegiate tally for the 3-2 score at the 18:58 mark.
Carter and Auth would each add goals for the visitors, but Towson went on a 7-2 run over the next ten minutes to grab a commanding 10-4 lead after Gabby Cha's third goal of the game at the 9:09 mark.
O'Donnell found the back of the net off a free-position attempt at 6:44, but the Tigers came back again as Kaitlin Thornton gave Towson the 11-5 lead at 2:56, which they took with them into halftime.
Penn State came out of the intermission firing on all cylinders as Carter tipped the hat-trick and freshman Quinn Nicolai (Moorestown, N.J.) each finished off passes from senior Shelby Wells (Timonium, Md.) just 28 seconds apart for the 11-7 deficit at the 24:42 mark.
Freshman Lucy Lowe (Cockeysville, Md.) earned the start in net for Penn State falling to 0-1 on the year after making three saves over the opening 19:53 before being lifted for sophomore Madison Cunningham (Davie, Fla.) who stopped five shots in just over 40 minutes played.
Keating earned the victory to move to 1-0 after a seven save performance for Towson.
Penn State remains on the road next weekend as they travel to Lehigh for a 1 p.m. affair next Saturday afternoon.
NOTES
- After tying her career-high with six goals, Madison Carter moves into a tie with Maggie McCormick '15 for 17th on the Penn State all-time goals list.
- With a hat-trick of her own on the afternoon, Katie O'Donnell moves into solo ninth place on the Penn State all-time goals list with 145, passing Michele DeJuliis.
- Towson earns its first-ever victory over Penn State as the Nittany Lions now lead the all-time series 8-1.
- PSU drops its first season opener in the last seven seasons and are now 38-15-1 all-time in season opening contests.
- Penn State was just 6-for-17 on free-position shots while Towson went 3-for-4. Each team had 23 turnovers on the afternoon.
- The Nittany Lions held the 38-24 advantage in shots, but the Tigers held the 22-20 edge in shots on target.
- Towson held the 24-17 edge in groundballs while Penn State controlled the draw, 16-13.
- O'Donnell and junior Kelly Daggett (Bainbridge, Pa.) each secured three groundballs to lead the team while Brisolari paced the Nittany Lions with four draw controls. Carter and O'Donnell each caused a pair of turnovers.