ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 18 Penn State Nittany Lions (12-5, 4-4 Big Ten) fell to the No. 8 Michigan Wolverines (11-5, 5-3 Big Ten) on Wednesday afternoon at UM Lacrosse Stadium, 12-13.
KEY PERFORMANCES
- Rocquette Allen – four goals, one ground ball
- Delaney Radin – three assists
- Erika Ho – three goals, one assist
- Lilly Spilker – two ground balls, one caused turnover
- Susannah O’Connell – two ground balls, one caused turnover
- Payton Wainman – three ground balls, five draws
FIRST QUARTER | PSU 3 – MICHIGAN 3
Michigan won the opening draw but the Nittany Lions’ defense held strong with a pair of saves by Sydney Manning. After a quick clear, Anna Salerno secured the opening goal for Penn State. Similarly to the first sequence, the Wolverines grabbed the draw control but two saves by Manning kept Michigan out of the score column. The Nittany Lions wouldn’t be able to capitalize on the opportunity and Michigan scored back-to-back goals despite an additional save by Manning. MacKinney netted the second Penn State goal with Radin on the assist. The two teams would continue going back and forth throughout the first quarter with Allen securing the final goal for the Nittany Lions in the frame.
SECOND QUARTER | PSU 5 – MICHIGAN 5
Allen opened up the second stanza for Penn State, but Michigan answered with a quick goal of their own. Greco was able to score to combat the Wolverine goal and a draw win by Penn State put the Nittany Lions in a great opportunity to score consecutive goals. Despite that, the Wolverines held strong and were able to net a tying goal headed into the media timeout. Defenses reigned supreme in the final 10 minutes of the half, with neither team being able to break through.
THIRD QUARTER | PSU 7 – MICHIGAN 8
Michigan won the opening draw of the second half, but a caused turnover by Spilker gave possession to the Penn State. The Nittany Lions offense wasn’t able to score on that possession, but Ho was able to score on the next possession to give the Nittany Lions the lead. The Wolverines scored three consecutive goals in the middle of the third stanza and Ho closed out the frame with a second goal.
FOURTH QUARTER | PSU 12 – MICHIGAN 13
The final stanza of the afternoon began with three quick goals by Michigan to create a four-goal cushion. Despite the run by the Wolverines, Penn State was able to fight back. Allen started a three-goal run to answer against Michigan with an unassisted goal. Emma Kelly was able to notch back-to-back goals to cut the deficit to one. The Wolverines and Nittany Lions then traded blows with each scoring two. Ho scored the first of Penn State’s goals and Allen, with an assist off Radin, recorded the second. Despite the effort, Penn State wasn’t able to complete the comeback as they fell in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Radin became the first Penn State player since Steph Lazo in 2017 to record 80 or more points in a season. Additionally, Radin secured 100 points in her career after her assist in the second quarter.
- Allen surpassed 40 goals in her freshman campaign.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions await their postseason fate on Sunday, May 3rd for Selection Sunday. The program will air on ESPNU starting at 9 p.m.