BALTIMORE, MD. – The Penn State women's lacrosse team withstood a big second half run by No. 21 Johns Hopkins to hold on for a 16-15 win on Thursday at Homewood Field. The Nittany Lions held a 13-7 lead with just under 23 minutes left in the second half, but the Blue Jays rallied to tie the game just 12 minutes later. PSU scored three of the game's final five goals, including the go-ahead goal by Maria Auth with just 3:34 to go.
The Nittany Lions improved to 7-7 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten, while Johns Hopkins fell to 10-6 overall and 2-3 in conference play. With the win, the Nittany Lions and the Blue Jays are now tied for fourth in the Big Ten standings and PSU now has the inside track to the fourth seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State finishes the regular season against Rutgers on Saturday, April 27.
Junior Maria Auth led Penn State with five goals, just one shy of her career high. She has at least three goals in three of the past four games. Junior Quinn Nicolai and sophomore Sophia Triandafils each recorded a hat-trick, while Brisolari collected two goals, an assist and seven draws. Kelly Daggett contributed two goals and Kristin Roberto had one. Taylor Suplee made 11 saves, her eighth double-digit save total of the season and fourth in Big Ten action.
The Blue Jays were led by Ellie McNulty's four goals and two assists. Nicole DeMasse scored four times and added an assist, while Miranda Ibello had three goals. Haley Crosson and Kathleen Garvey split time in goal, each making four saves.
Johns Hopkins got on the board first with a goal by Ibello with 26:12 left in the half.
The Nittany Lions answered with the next three goals. Triandafils scored PSU's first two goals, both times taking it through the middle of the defense. Brisolari added a goal to give PSU a 3-1 lead with 13:27 remaining in the half.
The Blue Jays cut the lead in half with a tally by McNulty with 5:44 to go. Nicolai answered just 50 seconds later to spark another 3-0 run, scoring on a free-position look. Auth found the net with 3:48 to go in the half and tallied another goal just 19 seconds later off an assist by Brisolari. Penn State led 6-2 with 3:29 remaining in the half.
Johns Hopkins ended the half with a 3-1 run. McNulty scored again before Maggie Schneidereith found the net with 2:03 left in the period. Triandafils extended PSU's lead back to three, at the 1:30 mark, before Lexi Souder scored on a free-position goal with 11 seconds left in the half. Penn State led 7-5 going into the break.
The blue and white opened the second half with three unanswered goals. Daggett scored after finding her way to the middle from behind the net. Nicolai added a goal on a free-position shot before Auth collected a rebound and sent it into the net, giving Penn State a 10-5 advantage with 26:12 to go in the game.
DeMase responded for the Blue Jays, but Daggett quickly answered with a free-position goal. Another tally by DeMase cut the Nittany Lions' lead to 11-7 with 24:28 remaining in the contest.
Just 36 seconds later, Auth scored on another rebound, her fourth of the game, before Roberto found the net on a free-position look with 22:46 left to give Penn State a 13-7 lead.
However, Johns Hopkins ripped off the next six goals to tie the game at 13-13 with 11 minutes to go. Ibello scored twice during the stretch, while Aurora Cordingley, DeMase, McNulty and Shelby Harrison each found the net once.
Nicolai ended the run with a free-position goal at the 9:22, clinching her hat-trick, to re-take the lead.
JHU's McNulty tied the game with 4:21 remaining to even the game at 14-14. However, Auth drew a foul and converted the free-position attempt for the go-ahead goal with 3:34 left.
Brisolari collected the ball on the left side of the goal, weaved into the middle and fired to the net with 1:54 remaining to extend the PSU lead to 16-14.
DeMase scored her fourth of the day from just outside the crease to bring Johns Hopkins back within one with 39 seconds left. However, Daggett picked up a crucial ground ball in the Blue Jays' zone and drew a foul to get enough space to help PSU run the clock out.
The Nittany Lions conclude their non-conference schedule on Tuesday, April 23 against No. 17 Stony Brook. First draw is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Panzer Stadium.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for youth (ages 12 and under), available for purchase at the Panzer Stadium ticket window. Students get in free by showing their Penn State ID.
Tickets are now also available through presale, for all April home games, through Penn State Account Manager, 1-800-NITTANY or visiting the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office in person Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
All presale ticketing will utilize mobile ticketing for entry. For help with mobile ticketing, fans are encouraged to go here.
Junior Maria Auth led PSU with five goals