Women’s lacrosse returned to the field strong after Saturday’s defeat and beat Johns Hopkins 11-7 on Wednesday in Baltimore. Despite a Blue Jay dominated first half, the Nittany Lions came out on top.

How It Happened

The first half got off to a rough start after a successful Hopkins offensive possession. After a number of fouls and failed shots on goal, Steph Lazo finally found the back of the net on a free position with 19:56 left in the half. Despite Lazo’s draw control, Johns Hopkins got on the board at the 15:41 mark. Hopkins came out strong by snagging a draw control and knocking down any attempts for a Penn State clear. After a turnover and failed shot on goal for Penn State, Madison Cyr picked up a ground ball, leading to a goal by Jenna Mosketti at 9:33. Mosketti came off of the goal aggressively and snagged a key faceoff. After time in the Blue Jay’s offensive zone, Natalie Schmitt picked up a ground ball that led to a successful clear attempt resulting in a goal by Katie O’Donnell at 6:24 making the game 3-1, Penn State.

Freshman standout Madison Carter grabbed another draw control for Penn State that led to several scoring opportunities, all of which went awry. The Nittany Lions were able to find the back of the net again with a shot from Mosketti assisted by Maggie Gallagher to close the half at 00:28 with Penn State on top 4-1.

Penn State exploded out of the half with another faceoff by O’Donnell and a shot attempt by Lazo 52 seconds in. After a save by goalie Emi Smith and a successful clear, Cyr hit her tenth goal of the season assisted by Lazo at 27:49. Despite Penn State’s draw control, there were two turnovers and a yellow card on O’Donnell. Hopkins was unable to capitalize in their man-up situation and the Nittany Lions were still able to get some shots off. Lazo notched another assist with Carter’s first goal of the game at 20:23.

After a Hopkins possession and a ground ball pickup by Smith, Cyr raised the score 6-1 off of a free position shot at 18:42. Taylor Bleistein grabbed yet another draw control for the Nittany Lions but the team couldn’t hang onto it in the offensive zone. After a few missed shots and turnovers, Penn State called a timeout with 15:15 left to play. Despite that, the Nittany Lions still struggled with turnovers and wide shots.

The Nittany Lions had a man up situation when Blue Jay’s Emily Verica earned a yellow card at 10:33. With 9:09 left, Cyr was able to capitalize and notch another goal for the Nittany Lions. She came out strong after the new draw and put another one on the board at 8:11 to make the score 8-1. After two Penn State fouls, Hopkins added another goal off a free position with 7:40 left to play. Mosketti had another draw control that led to another Carter goal, assisted by Delaney Muldoon. Hopkins responded quickly with a goal less than 20 seconds later. Within another 20 seconds, Hopkins started to close the gap more with a goal at 6:21. After a Hopkins yellow card at 2:04, Muldoon found the back of the net for her first goal of the season.

Despite a Mosketti faceoff win, Hopkins notched another one with 1:13 left off of a free position with its collective sights set on a comeback. About 13 seconds later, Hopkins tallied another one. They continued their comeback and added another with 45 seconds left in the game. Despite Hopkins last minute comeback, Penn State came out on top with 11-7.

Player Of The Game

Jenna Mosketti sparked the Nittany Lion offensive attack with her consistent presence in the faceoff department. While the Nittany Lions had some offensive struggles with accuracy, Mosketti, who snagged six draw controls throughout, was electric in facilitating Penn State’s opportunities all of its 31 shot of goal opportunities.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will face Loyola on Saturday, March 6, with opening draw at 1 p.m.