BALTIMORE, Md. – The No. 25 Penn State women's lacrosse team dropped a 15-8 decision against No. 1 Maryland in Friday's Big Ten Semifinals, hosted by Johns Hopkins at Homewood Field. The Nittany Lions concluded their season with an 8-9 record, while Maryland improved to 18-0.
The Penn State offense was led by junior Maria Auth, who recorded three goals and an assist. Junior Kristin Roberto and sophomore Quinn Nicolai each scored twice, while senior Kayla Brisolari added a goal and seven draw controls. Freshman Taylor Suplee made a career-high 18 saves in goal, including 11 in the second half.
Maryland was paced by Erica Evans' five goals. Grace Griffin contributed three goals and an assist, while Catie May had two goals and two assists. Kali Hartshorn added two goals and Brindi Griffin had a goal and three assists. Megan Taylor tallied 14 stops in goal.
The Nittany Lions took an early lead, getting on the board as Auth worked her way into the middle and fired to the net just over a minute into the game. Maryland responded with the next three goals, including two by Evans and one by Hartshorn. The Terrapins led 3-1 with 26:17 left in the half.
Roberto answered for the blue and white with a free-position goal at the 23:45 mark. Maryland responded with another 3-0 run, sparked by Evans' two goals and Hartshorn's tally.
Penn State trailed 6-2 before a snipe by Nicolai, off a feed by Auth, cut the deficit to three with 10:52 remaining in the period. Goals by Grace Griffin and Lizzie Colson, just 15 seconds apart, extended Maryland's lead to 8-3.
Nicolai found the net for the second time in the half, off a behind-the-net dish by Rachel Rosen, at the 9:10 mark. After goals by the Terrapins' Evans and May, the Nittany Lions answered with a tally by Brisolari with just 56 seconds left in the half. Penn State trailed 10-5 at the break.
The teams traded goals to start the second half. Brindi Griffin found the net for Maryland at the 29:43 mark, but Auth answered with her second score of the day under two minutes later. The Terrapins responded with a 4-0 run, with two goals by Grace Griffin and one each by May and Caroline Steele.
Penn State cut the deficit to 15-7 on a free-position snipe by Roberto, her second goal of the game with 5:37 remaining. The Nittany Lions added a goal at the 1:59 mark as Auth weaved her way through the defense and fired from the left side for her third score of the game.
Junior Maria Auth led PSU with three goals and an assist