UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's lacrosse wins its third straight game in a close 12-11 victory over Cornell at Schoellkopf Field Saturday afternoon.
Penn State improves to 5-4 overall (1-0 Big Ten), while Cornell moves to 5-2 overall (2-0 Ivy). The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series 15-3.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – PSU 4, Cornell 2
Payton Wainman gave Penn State their first goal of the game on a woman-down scenario at the 12:57 mark. The sophomore then capitalized on a free position opportunity to put the Nittany Lions up, 2-1.
Kristin O'Neill plowed through the Big Red defense to knock the ball back in the bottom left corner for her first goal of the game.
Wainman completed her first quarter hat trick with 10 seconds left on the clock from a free position goal.
Second Quarter – PSU 7, Cornell 2
The Nittany Lions shut out the Big Red for the entire second quarter, only allowing five shots.
O'Neill earned her brace from a free position opportunity one minute into the second quarter.
Emma Kelly and Lauren Saltz joined in on the goal scoring to put Penn State up 7-2 at halftime.
Cornell had possession with 30 seconds left in the half. A Penn State foul allowed a free position opportunity for the Big Red. Goalkeeper Ashley Bowan came up with a huge save to keep Cornell at two.
Third Quarter – PSU 9, Cornell 4
Wainman scored her fourth goal of the game from an O'Neill assist at 11:52.
The Nittany Lions kept the Big Red without a goal for nearly 25 minutes before they scored their third goal of the game. Cornell went on a two-goal run before Penn State had a goal of their own. Regan Nealon caused a turnover and picked up the ground ball that eventually led to a Kelly MacKinney goal from a Meghan Murray assist.
Fourth Quarter – PSU 12, Cornell 11
O'Neill scored two free position goals in the fourth quarter, one of which was a woman-up opportunity.
Saltz scored her second goal of the game after having possession of the ball for nearly 20 yards then spinning around the Big Red defense and putting the ball into the back of the cage.
Cornell ended the fourth quarter with five straight goals.
GAME NOTES
>> Bowan made 10 saves in the 60 minutes.
>> Wainman and O'Neill both led scoring with four goals apiece. Wainman tallied her second career hat trick, while O'Neill earned her 26th.
>> Saltz scored two goals, followed by Kelly and MacKinney who scored one each.
>> O'Neill is now six goals away from 150 career goals. The senior is currently ranked 12th all-time in program history.
>> Cornell outshot Penn State, 34-26.
>> The defense scooped up 11 groundballs and caused seven turnovers.
UP NEXT
Penn State will return home to face Northwestern for their Youth Game Friday, March 22 at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
