UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 25 Penn State women’s lacrosse dropped a heartbreaker to conference No. 8-ranked Johns Hopkins Wednesday night in the Nittany Lions final game of the regular season. The Blue Jays, who scored the winning goal in overtime after trailing by as many as three in the fourth quarter, stole a 12-11 victory at Homewood Field. With the loss, Penn State falls to 7-8 (5-3 Big Ten), while JHU improves to 11-4 (5-2 Big Ten).
Erika Ho led the Nittany Lion attack with five points, scoring four goals on five shots and adding an assist. She also secured eight draw controls to eclipse her 100th of the season, caused a turnover, and scooped a ground ball. Kelly MacKinney followed with three points on two assists and a goal. Four other Nittany Lions tallied two points in the outing, including pairs of goals from Brooke Hoss and Ellie Wisch, two apples from Lauren Saltz, and one goal and one assist from Payton Wainman and Emma Kelly. Saltz and Kelly each added three draw controls apiece.
Sydney Manning tallied 12 saves for the Nittany Lions, giving her a save percentage of .500 or better for the third time this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Quarter 1 – Penn State 2, Johns Hopkins 2
Junior Emma Kelly opened the scoring on Wednesday evening just one minute into the contest, juking two defenders as she charged into the eight-meter arc and buried the shot on a bouncer.
Hopkins leveled the scoring at one, but Payton Wainman put away a free-position goal with 7:57 to go in the quarter to put PSU back on top.
The Blue Jays scored the answer to level things with just over four to go in the fourth, but the Nittany Lion defense stood tall, killing off a yellow card and keeping Johns Hopkins off the board in the closing minutes of the half.
Quarter 2 – Penn State 6, Johns Hopkins 4
Erika Ho gave PSU the edge early with a goal just 56 seconds into the quarter off a feed from Kelly. 58 seconds later Ho fed a dodging Kelly MacKinney to push the Penn State lead to two.
Another quick goal came, this time for the home team at 12:14 to cut Penn State’s lead back down to one at 4-3.
Nearly nine minutes without a goal for either team followed after three quick scores to open the quarter. Ho broke the drought with a solo goal from her knees as she beat the keeper while fighting through contact.
JHU looked to strike last in the first half with a score at 1:14 in the quarter, but freshman Ellie Wisch had other plans, scoring 31 seconds later on a wide-open alley dodge. Kelly MacKinney fed the ball as PSU took a two-goal lead into the half.
Quarter 3 – Penn State 9, Johns Hopkins 7
The Blue Jays put up the first score of the second half, chipping into the Penn State lead 2:06 into the third quarter.
Ho capped off the hat trick with 11:14 left in the third on an assist from Lauren Saltz. Hopkins answered on a man-up opportunity, but Ho on the free-position ensured PSU stayed ahead by two.
In the closing minute, Hopkin’s number two scorer Ava Angello found the net, but Ellie Wisch’s goal with six seconds left kept the Nittany Lions with up two with 15 minutes to go.
Quarter 4 – Penn State 11, Johns Hopkins 11
Brooke Hoss put the Blue and White up three just 1:39 into the final frame of regulation, but Johns Hopkins tallied three consecutive goals before the ten-minute mark to knot things up at 10. Hoss again regained the lead for Penn State, scoring on a pass from Lauren Saltz, but a Johns Hopkins response with 2:49 to play leveled the teams at 11.
Overtime – Penn State 11, Johns Hopkins 12
Penn State won the opening draw after being forced behind its own restraining line, and completed the subsequent clear before a strong stick check by the Blue Jays forced a turnover. The Nittany Lions defense game all at could, but a shot by Lacey Downey as she fell to the ground slipped through, giving the Blue Jays its first lead of the game for the win.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions wait to see how the final weekend of Big Ten play unfolds to determine the team’s seed in the 2025 Big Ten Tournament. The opening round will be played in College Park, Maryland, on Wednesday, April 23.