UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 19 Penn State women's lacrosse team dropped an 11-9 decision against No. 7 James Madison on Wednesday in Holuba Hall. The Nittany Lions closed the game on a 3-0 run, but could not complete the comeback. Penn State is now 3-3 on the season, while JMU improved to 5-1.
The Nittany Lions had a balanced effort offensively, with six different players recording goals. Sophomore Quinn Nicolai, junior Kristin Roberto and sophomore Sophia Triandafils each scored two goals. Roberto and Triandafils scored all of their goals on free-position attempts, while Triandafils added an assist. Senior Madison Carter, freshman Lauren Craft and senior Delaney Muldoon each found the net once with Muldoon contributing two assists. Freshman Sydney Wolfington added an assist.
Carter won six draws, while Roberto and senior Kayla Brisolari each controlled two. Freshman Taylor Suplee made seven saves and picked up six ground balls.
James Madison was led by junior Halle Duenkel and junior Maddie McDaniel, who each scored three times. McDaniel added an assist, while senior Hanna Haven had a goal and three helpers. Sophomore Daria Lucchesi contributed two goals. Sophomore Molly Dougherty made 19 saves in goal.
The Nittany Lions opened the game on a 3-0 run. Carter rifled a shot into the net off a feed by Muldoon with 27:13 left in the first half to open the scoring. Craft found the net after a pass by Triandafils with 24:36 remaining in the half. Just 24 seconds later, Nicolai buried one in the back of the net on a free-position look.
However, the Dukes responded with their own 3-0 run. Duenkel got JMU on the board with 23:03 remaining. Five minutes later, Lucchesi found the net and McDaniel tied the game at 3-3 with 14:16 remaining in the half.
Roberto answered with a free-position goal before Nicolai, off an assist by Muldoon, extended PSU's lead to 5-3 with 11:06 to go in the period. After a tally by Duenkel, PSU's Roberto found the net again on a free-position shot to give PSU a 6-4 advantage with 9:59 remaining.
The Dukes tied the game going into halftime. Duenkel recorded her third goal of the half with 8:53 to go in the half before a tally by McDaniel evened the score at 6-6 at the 3:37 mark.
James Madison scored the first five goals of the second half. Kelsey Reed recorded the first goal of the half with 24:21 remaining. McDaniel's third of the game came with 20:45 left before Charlotte Haggerty added a goal with 17:06 to go. Haven found the net at the 12:57 mark and Lucchesi scored a man-up goal to give JMU an 11-6 lead with 9:27 remaining.
Muldoon cut the PSU deficit to four with a goal off a feed from Wolfington with 6:47 remaining. After a draw won by Craft, Triandafils was fouled and converted a free-position opportunity to cut the JMU lead to 11-8 with 6:29 to go. Triandafils found the net against on a free-position look with 1:33 left to bring the Nittany Lions within two.
The Nittany Lions welcome Albany to Happy Valley on Saturday. The matchup is slated for 1 p.m. at Panzer Stadium with a live stream on BTN Plus.
Junior Kristin Roberto scored two free-position goals