No. 13 Penn State women’s lacrosse (4-7) came up just short to No. 24 Rutgers (4-7) by one goal Thursday afternoon in Piscataway.

Maria Auth and Olivia Dirks both played incredible games for the Nittany Lions, but their scoring efforts weren’t enough for the victory.

How It Happened

Penn State’s goalkeeper Lucy Lowe started in net after an electric game against the Maryland Terrapins last Sunday.

The Nittany Lions’ Rachel Rosen scored her first goal of the season right out of the gate to give Penn State the lead just over a minute into the contest. Rutgers’ Grace Curran responded to the Nittany Lions goal and tied up the game 1-1 less than a minute later.

The Scarlet Knights then scored two more in a row. The sharp offensive play for Rutgers gave it a 3-1 lead about six minutes into the first.

Cassidy Spilis for Rutgers then spun her way to a goal after a free position shot. That was her second of the day, as she gave the Scarlet Knights a 5-2 lead with 16:35 left in the first.

Sophie Triandafils scored for Penn State on a rebound off of the Scarlet Knights’ goalie, Sophia Cardello. Maria Auth then scored for the Nittany Lions, with an assist from Kristin O’Neill, shortly after to get her 24th goal of the season. Penn State trailed 6-4 with 12:43 to go in the half.

Curran then scored once again, ending an eight-minute drought for Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights were back up by two with 7:13 left in the half.

Auth scored her third goal of the half, giving her the hat-trick early in the game and helping Penn State catch up to the lead Rutgers held for nearly the entire first half. Right after her hat-trick, she scored again and tied the game up 8-8 before the end of the first half.

Auth again!!!! Her 4th of the half! We're tied 8-8 with 2:30 to go in the half. #WeAre pic.twitter.com/BzdJojhJN0

— Penn State Women’s Lacrosse (@PennStateWLAX) April 15, 2021

The pouring rain that started out the second half did not stop Olivia Dirks, who quickly scored twice for Penn State to give it the lead. Dirks clinched her fourth goal of the game and the Nittany Lions led 10-8 with 28:15 to go.

Rutgers then scored four straight goals and took the lead again. The Nittany Lions trailed 12-10 with 21:45 remaining in the game.

After some strong defensive play for both sides Lucy Lowe got taken off the field after receiving a yellow card for a check to the head. That left the net open for Rutgers to score on a free position shot and lead 13-11 with 18:16 left in the second.

Penn State managed to battle back however, and Dirks struck again with her fifth score of the day. The Nittany Lions trailed 14-13 with 12:36 left in the game.

Dirks with her 5th goal of the day! This time off the assist by Regan Nealon! Penn State trails 14-13 with 12:36 remaining. #WeAre pic.twitter.com/dWgGUlCIcr

— Penn State Women’s Lacrosse (@PennStateWLAX) April 15, 2021

Auth scored two quick goals in a row with an assist by Dirks, but the Scarlet Knights responded to lead 17-15 with 6:09 left in the game.

The Nittany Lions tried to put together a score late, but Rutgers escaped with its first-ever win over the Nittany Lions 17-16.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions did extremely well Thursday in winning the draws, something they have been struggling with in their last few games. Olivia Dirks took the majority of the draws and was the spark for much of the offense.
• Maria Auth had a huge game for Penn State, scoring four goals in just the first half to tie up the game and to keep the Nittany Lions alive. She then scored three more goals in the second half, giving her a career-high of seven on the day.
• Olivia Dirks was the other piece of the puzzle on offense. While Penn State couldn’t pick up the victory, it was to no fault of her own. She finished the day with five goals and had four assists.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will play Johns Hopkins at Panzer Stadium at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 18. That will be aired on BTN+.