COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 19 Penn State women's lacrosse fell to Ohio State, 9-8, in a Big Ten matchup Thursday evening at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium.
The Nittany Lions drop to 6-5 (3-1 Big Ten) and the Buckeyes improve to 7-4 (1-4 Big Ten).
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter – PSU 2, OSU 0
Ohio State started the first quarter off on a power play after a Lauren Saltz green card. The Nittany Lions defense was able to kill the Buckeyes man-up opportunity and turn it into a scoring opportunity. Payton Wainman faked out the Ohio State goalie and threw the ball to Saltz who launched it into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
Nearly six minutes later, Meghan Murray scored the second goal the game, running straight up the middle of the crease to score.
Freshman goalkeeper Sydney Manning made two huge stops to shut out Ohio State in the first 15 minutes.
Second Quarter – PSU 6, OSU 1
After a shot clock violation by Ohio State and a successful clear by Penn State, Emma Kelly took a shot just wide of the cage. Kelly took advantage of a second opportunity and buried the ball into the back of the net for her second goal of the game.
Haley Urgo caused a turnover that led to Gretchen Gilmore's first goal of the game at the 9:14 mark of the second quarter. Less than two minutes later, Gilmore found the back of the net again to put Penn State up, 5-0.
The Nittany Lions defense kept the Buckeyes without a goal for nearly 28 minutes before they broke through.
Murray responded with her second goal of the game with just 33 seconds left in the half.
Third Quarter – PSU 8, OSU 2
Ohio State opened the second half with an early goal to put them within four of Penn State, however a Kayla Abernathy draw win led to Saltz scoring her second goal of the game putting the Nittany Lions up 7-2.
Kelly scored the final Penn State goal of the game at the 5:34 mark of the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter – PSU 8, OSU 9
Ohio State went on a seven-goal scoring streak in the fourth quarter to win the game.
GAME NOTES
>> Manning made seven saves in the 60 minutes.
>> Four different Nittany Lions made up Penn State's scoring with each player registering two goals apiece. Saltz, Kelly, Gilmore and Murray all contributed to the scoring efforts.
>> With her two goals, Gilmore is now eight points away from 100 in her career.
>> Murray tied a career high two caused turnovers in the loss.
>> The defense registered 10 caused turnovers and scooped up 18 ground balls.
>> Despite the loss, Penn State out shot Ohio State, 27-24. The Buckeyes held the 16-5 advantage on the draw.
UP NEXT
Penn State will return home for a midweek non-conference match up against Vanderbilt Wednesday, March April 3 at 1 p.m. for their Pride Game.
