UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A low-scoring second half doomed the Nittany Lions, as the Penn State women's lacrosse team fell 10-5 to No. 25 Johns Hopkins on Thursday evening.
PSU entered halftime locked 4-4 with JHU following a sophomore Kristin O'Neill hat trick and freshman Ellie Hollin's first career goal. But cold shooting and turnovers proved to be PSU's undoing as the Blue Jays outscored the Lions 6-1 in the second half.
The loss sees the Nittany Lions finish the 2022 season 6-9 overall and 0-5 in the Big Ten. Meanwhile, JHU moves to 10-7 on the year and 2-4 in Big Ten play.
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
- O'Neill's hat-trick is her fourth in a row. She has 13 multi-goal games this season and leads the Lions with 39 total goals.
- Sophomore Sammy Dupcak picked up a career-high seven ground balls and four caused turnovers.
- Junior Haley Urgo made her first career assist.
- Sophomore Kayla Abernathy caused a career-high three turnovers.
- Freshman Ashley Bowan finished with seven saves between the pipes.
- PSU won the draw control battle, 12-7.
- Penn State went 0-5 on free position shots, while JHU was 1-5.
- JHU was led by sophomore Abbey Hurlbrink who scored four goals coming off the bench.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – PSU 2, JHU 3
JHU scored the first two goals of the game 21 seconds apart. Just over 30 seconds later, O'Neill would drive toward the left side to net the Lions' first goal. Under a minute later, the Blue Jays took their two-goal lead back. Then not 30 seconds after that, Hollin would score the first goal of her career. Hollin had cleared the ball by herself down the field, stopping only for a JHU foul, then promptly picked up the ball and took straight to the net, driving past her defender on a 1-vs-1 opportunity.
Second Quarter – PSU 4, JHU 4
The Nittany Lions started the second period with a coast-to-coast goal by O'Neill. Playing good defense, the Lions' fifth-year senior Kate Love forced a turnover on a drive down the middle. Bowan picked up the ground ball and delivered it to O'Neill in motion who cleared the ball herself and scored in transition. On the next series, Love again caused a turnover and nabbed the ground ball. Hollin pushed up the field passing a long ball to Urgo who dished it to O'Neill who scored on the drive giving PSU its first lead, 4-3. With under two minutes to go, JHU tied it back up on a free-position goal. With 35 seconds remaining, a PSU yellow card left them a woman-down and JHU another free-position opportunity. This time, Bowan made a clutch save to keep the game locked heading into halftime.
Third Quarter – PSU 5, JHU 6
PSU's offensive production slowed as JHU took advantage of turnovers and missed shots to net two goals. Down 4-6, senior Sydney Wolfington connected with junior Brooke Barger on a much-needed goal with 1:27 left of the quarter.
Fourth Quarter – PSU 5, JHU 10
JHU would control the period and put the game out of reach with four consecutive goals.
UP NEXT
Penn State finishes the 2022 season while the Blue Jays can now clinch the fourth and final spot in the Big Ten Tournament with a Rutgers' win over Ohio State and a Maryland win against Michigan.