No. 14 Penn State women’s lacrosse lost to No. 7 Northwestern 17-13 Saturday evening at Panzer Stadium.

Katie O’Donnell and Maria Auth combined for nine goals in the Nittany Lions’ annual THON game.

How It Happened

The Wildcats got off to a strong start, leading 8-3 before Quinn Nicolai and Auth cut the deficit to three goals. O’Donnell brushed off a hard slash in front of the Northwestern net and finished a tremendous goal to make it 8-6. She would reach a hat trick before the half.

Senior attacker Danita Stroup somehow beat the buzzer to give the Wildcats a 10-7 lead, but head coach Missy Doherty wasn’t pleased with the call, lambasting the referees for what she believed was a no goal. Auth’s fourth goal of the game made it 13-11 Northwestern with 16:45 to play. She now has 43 goals on the season.

Penn State came within a goal of Northwestern’s lead, but the Wildcats opened up another sizable advantage thanks to some timely goals. O’Donnell’s fifth goal of the evening capped the scoring.

Player of the Game

Sheila Nesselbush | Senior | Midfielder

The Penfield, NY, native finished with four goals, two assists, and three ground balls for the Wildcats.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions (9-5, 3-1 Big Ten) travel to College Park Thursday for a 7 p.m. clash versus No. 3 Maryland on the Big Ten Network.