Penn State women’s lacrosse lost to Penn 15-14 in a double overtime thriller Friday evening at Stony Brook’s Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.

Zoe Belodeau’s goal with 1.8 seconds left led the Quakers (14-4) to the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they’ll face Stony Brook Sunday at noon.

How It Happened

Katie O’Donnell and Madison Carter, who finished with five goals apiece, put the Nittany Lions on the board first. The Quakers, however, would rally to take a 5-4 lead with 10:48 left before the half. The first nine goals of the game were all scored by different players.

With her team down 6-4, head coach Missy Doherty replaced freshman goalkeeper Lucy Lowe with sophomore Madison Cunningham. Carter soon found the back of the net again to give Penn State its first goal in nearly 11 minutes.

O’Donnell cut the deficit to 10-7 with back-to-back goals just before the intermission, the first of which required teammate Delaney Muldoon to duck out of the way.  She became the fourth player in program history to reach the 200-goal milestone on the play.

Belodeau’s incredible behind-the-back goal gave Penn a 14-13 lead with 4:23 to go, but O’Donnell scored on a huge free-position tally with just 22 seconds left to force overtime. Freshman Rachel Rosen made it possible with an outstanding takeaway near midfield.

Making her NCAA tournament debut, Belodeau sunk Penn State’s comeback with a game-winning goal seconds before the buzzer. Maria Auth was the lone Nittany Lion to surpass 70 points this season (71), notching two goals and an assist in the loss.

Player of the Game

Zoe Belodeau | Freshman | Attacker

The Potomac Falls, MD, native led Penn with six points (five goals) and eight draw controls. Sophomore goalie Mikaila Cheeseman also played a great game with 13 saves.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions (10-10) are sent home early after making their seventh straight NCAA tournament appearance.