PISCATAWAY, N.J. – In a thrilling back-and-forth battle, the No. 13 Penn State women's lacrosse team came up just short, 17-16, at No. 24 Rutgers on Thursday. Maria Auth scored with a minute left to bring Penn State within one. After forcing a turnover in Rutgers' end, Penn State had an opportunity in the closing seconds but a charge call helped the Scarlet Knights to hang on for the win. Penn State dropped to 4-7, while Rutgers improved to 4-7.
Auth led the Nittany Lions with a career-high seven goals. She tallied four goals in the first half and three in the second. She scored Penn State's final three goals of each half.
With seven points on the day, Auth now has 220 for her career, moving into seventh all-time at Penn State. She passed Laurie Gray (216; 1981-84) and Madison Carter (218; 2016-20) to move into seventh. Auth is now seven points behind Katie O'Donnell (2015-18) for sixth all-time.
Auth also has 156 career goals, sitting in a tie for sixth at Penn State with Madison Cyr (2013-16). Auth moved past Maggie Dunphy (150; 1983-86), Laurie Gray (153; 1983-86) and Sharon Duffey (154; 1975-78).
Sophomore Olivia Dirks collected a career-high nine points. She tied a career high with five goals and set a career high with four assists. Dirks had three goals and two assists in the second half. She also won 10 draw controls.
Regan Nealon and Kristin O'Neill each added a goal and an assist. Rachel Rosen and Sophia Triandafils each recorded a goal, while Kayla Abernathy had one assist. Lucy Lowe made seven saves.
Rutgers was led by four players who each recorded four points. Jenna Byrne and Marin Hartshorn each registered four goals. Grace Curran and Taralyn Naslonski both recorded two goals and two assists. Cassidy Spilis added three goals. Sophia Cardello made seven saves.
The Nittany Lions got on the board first. Rosen scooped up a loose ball near the crease and fired into the net.
However, Rutgers responded with the next three goals, sparked by Curran's free-position goal. Byrne and Hartshorn added tallies to give Rutgers a 3-1 lead with 24 minutes left in the half.
Penn State stopped the run on a free-position goal by Dirks, who scored despite behind pushed down from behind. However, Rutgers answered with two free-position goals by Spilis and another by Naslonski. Penn State trailed 6-2 with 15:51 remaining in the half.
The Nittany Lions cut the deficit to 6-5 with 9:58 to go in the half. Triandafils found the net at the 14:55 by firing off of a rebound. Auth added a goal by cutting through the middle and finishing off an assist by O'Neill. Dirks brought the game within one as she made a strong drive into the middle and fired into the net.
Rutgers expanded its lead back to three, 8-5, at the 5:39 mark after a free-position goal by Curran and a score by Hartshorn.
Auth put the Nittany Lion offense on her back to end the half on a personal 3-0 run. The first and third goals came off assists by Dirks and the second came on a free-position look. The teams were tied 8-8 going into the break.
Penn State's momentum carried early into the second half. Dirks opened the second half with a pair of goals, the second was a spinning shot off a pass from Abernathy, to give Penn State a 10-8 lead with 28:38 to go.
However, Rutgers responded with a 4-0 run to re-take the lead. Spilis started the stretch with a goal at the 25:44 mark. Naslonski evened the game at the 24:13 mark before Ashley Moynahan put RU ahead a little over a minute later. Hartshorn scored on a free-position look to give Rutgers a 12-10 advantage with 21:48 to go.
Penn State answered with a free-position tally by O'Neill. A Rutgers free-position goal by Hartshorn was matched by a man-down goal by Nealon, off an assist by Dirks. The back-and-forth stretch continued with a snipe by RU's Byrne before a tally by Dirks, off an assist by Nealon. Penn State trailed 14-13 with 12:40 remaining.
Rutgers collected back-to-back goals by Byrne and Lauren Ellis to push its lead to 16-13 with 8:30 to go.
Consecutive goals by Auth brought Penn State back within one, 16-15, with 6:40 left. The second came off another dime by Dirks.
The Scarlet Knights' Byrne scored again to extend the lead to 17-15 with 6:09 remaining.
Auth again brought Penn State within a goal, 17-16, scoring with 1:05 to go.
Penn State then forced a turnover in Rutgers' end with O'Neill picking off a pass. However, a charge call with five seconds left helped Rutgers to hold on for the victory.
The Nittany Lions conclude their regular season on Sunday against Johns Hopkins. First draw is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Big Ten Network+.
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewlax).
Maria Auth had a career-high seven goals