UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – In a tough Big Ten battle where neither team led by more than a point, Penn State women's lacrosse ultimately fell to No. 19 Michigan, 8-7, following a sudden-death goal in overtime by the Wolverines.
The Nittany Lions outscored the Wolverines 2-1 in the final quarter to force an overtime period with the score tied at seven.
U-M won the overtime draw on a foul by PSU. At 1:36, the Wolverines took their first shot, which was saved by freshman goalie Ashley Bowan. The ball went out of bounds, and after initial confusion and referee discussion, U-M retained possession and took a timeout.
Play resumed, and then with 1:06 left, U-M freshman Jill Smith scored the game-winner on an assist from fifth-year, Caitlin Muir.
The loss drops PSU to 6-7, 0-4 B1G, while U-M moves to 10-5, 2-3 B1G.
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
- Sophomore Kristin O'Neill netted her second hat trick of the week. She had back-to-back three goal, one assist performances in games vs Pitt on Tuesday and Michigan on Saturday.
- O'Neill also won a team-high four draw controls of PSU's eight total today.
- Sydney Wolfington showed out on senior day, netting a career high two goals; her first multi-goal game of her career.
- Freshman Brooke Hoss accounted for PSU's other two goals to bring her total to 20 goals this season. It was her eighth multi-goal game of the year.
- Fifth-year Nittany Lion Kate Love also had a great senior day game on defense. She tied her career-high of three caused turnovers for the third time of her career.
- Bowan made ten saves, including five in the fourth quarter. She finished the game with a .556 save percentage.
- Seven of U-M's eight goals were from substitutes.
- U-M went 2-2 on free-position shots, while PSU missed all six attempts.
- The Wolverines won the draw control battle, 11-8.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – PSU 2, U-M 2
It took until 9:35 to see the first goal of the contest as U-M struck first on a free-position opportunity. Over a minute later, junior Regan Nealon caused a turnover and charged down the field delivering a pass to Wolfington who shot behind her back into the net to tie it up. At 5:46, the Wolverines sent a low shot in for the 2-1 lead. With under four minutes remaining, O'Neill cut around a pack of defenders to score her first of the game and tie U-M, 2-2.
Second Quarter – PSU 3, U-M 3
O'Neill fired in a goal at 11:48 to give the Nittany Lions their first lead of the game, 3-2. The PSU defense did a great job at shutting down U-M, forcing three turnovers and thwarting four shot attempts. But at 2:30, the Wolverines scored tying the game again, 3-3.
Third Quarter – PSU 5, U-M 6
The third period saw a game-high five goals between the two teams. U-M found the back of the net at 13:26 but the goal was overturned due to a crease violation. PSU gained possession and sophomore Gretchen Gilmore connected with Hoss in transition to put PSU up, 4-3. U-M would net the next two goals, one on free-position to take back the lead, 4-5. At the six-minute mark, Wolfington cashed in her second goal of the game on a shot-clock buzzer beater to knot the game at five. But a little under two minutes later, PSU failed a clear and U-M took advantage to take a 5-6 lead.
Fourth Quarter – PSU 7, U-M 7
A minute into the final period of regulation, PSU went down a player on a yellow card. At 13:50 Bowan made a clutch save and the Nittany Lions made the clear to get back to full strength. On that same possession, Hoss scored her second goal of the game on a feed by Regan Nealon, her second assist of the game. U-M would break the 6-6 tie at 10:15 after PSU was forced to take a long-shot to prevent a shot clock violation. The Wolverines cashed in their possession for the 6-7 advantage. Under two minutes later, O'Neill drove down the lane to net her second hat-trick in a row and tie the game at 7-7. Before time expired, U-M made a shot with 16 seconds remaining, but Bowan saved it to send the game into overtime.
Overtime – PSU 7, U-M 8
U-M won the overtime draw on a foul by PSU. At 1:36, the Wolverines took their first shot, which was saved by Bowan. The ball went out of bounds, and after initial confusion and referee discussion, U-M retained possession and took a timeout.
Play resumed, and then with 1:06 left, U-M freshman Jill Smith scored the game-winner on an assist from fifth-year, Caitlin Muir.
UP NEXT
Penn State travels to Rutgers next Saturday, April 23. First draw is at noon.