PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The No. 25 Penn State women's lacrosse team fell 12-8 in their season opener at No. 19 Drexel on Wednesday afternoon.
"It was a tough game," said Penn State head coach Missy Doherty. "We had a lot of opportunities to score, and our defense made some incredible stops. We are looking forward to building from here and getting better."
Penn State led Drexel in shots on goal, 19-16, but the Dragons' keeper held strong tallying 11 saves. The Blue and White also caused six turnovers of Drexel's 20 turnovers, while committing 13 turnovers themselves.
Five different players scored for the Nittany Lions with senior Mary Muldoon leading the way by netting a hat-trick, while junior Kara Nealon contributed a team-high two assists and sophomore Sammy Dupcak had a team-best three ground balls.
Freshman Ashley Bowan and sophomore Cayden Jarvis had their collegiate debuts in goal with each capturing two saves.
After conceding the first goal of the game, the Nittany Lions' sophomore Gretchen Gilmore evened the score with PSU's first goal of the 2022 campaign assisted by sophomore Kayla Abernathy.
The Dragons would break the tie by going on a three-goal run in just over three minutes in the first quarter. Before the period's end, junior Regan Nealon would connect with graduate Taylor Regan for a goal that narrowed the deficit, 4-2.
In the second quarter, both sides traded goals with Abernathy finding the net and sophomore Kristin O'Neill scoring off free position. PSU trailed 7-4 at the half.
The third quarter saw Muldoon score her first goal of the game on a shorthanded play assisted by Kara Nealon, but the Dragons responded with two more goals to stay just out of reach entering the final period up 9-5.
PSU turned up the heat to start the fourth quarter, scoring three straight goals including another free position score from O'Neill and back-to-back goals by Muldoon. The run brought the Nittany Lions within one point, 9-8, of the Dragons with nearly nine minutes to play.
However, Drexel held their advantage and kept out of reach by adding three insurance goals to win 12-8.
Penn State falls to 0-1 while Drexel is now 2-0 to start the season.
The Nittany Lions remain on the road for their next three games stopping first at Duquesne on Feb. 23 for a 4 p.m. contest in Pittsburgh, Pa.
