Penn State women’s lacrosse (6-8, 0-5 Big Ten) fell to Rutgers (13-3, 3-2 Big Ten) 18-13 Saturday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions’ Gretchen Gilmore, Brooke Hoss, and Kristin O’Neill had hat tricks in the afternoon’s high-scoring affair, while four Rutgers players picked up hat tricks, too. Ultimately, Penn State’s offense couldn’t keep up with the Scarlet Knights, who set two program records as the team celebrated its seniors.

How It Happened

The opening draw, nearly won by Rutgers before they lost control, went Penn State’s way when sophomore Kayla Abernathy controlled it. Penn State opened up the scoring on the first possession with a free-position goal from O’Neill, her 34th of the season. It wasn’t long before Rutgers senior Marin Hartshorn evened the score just a minute and 20 seconds later.

After the Scarlet Knights’ tying goal, the pace of the game picked up and became a swift back and forth between the two teams. Penn State wasn’t able to keep it tied for long when Taralyn Naslonski scored and put the Scarlet Knights up 2-1. Rutgers doubled up on a free-position goal from Ashley Campo to increase that lead to 3-1.

After several fouls against Penn State led to free-position shots, Hoss, finally able to capitalize, made the score 3-2. She quickly doubled up 41 seconds later and tied the game 3-3. Soon after, Rutgers’ Cassidy Spilis and Campo both scored 37 seconds apart, once again passing Penn State — this time up 5-3.

Penn State tied the game within the last minute of the first quarter with goals coming from Hoss and a last-second goal by sophomore Gretchen Gilmore. Hoss’s goal, her third of the game, gave her an impressively quick hat trick in the first quarter.

Rutgers regained the two-goal lead early in the second quarter with two goals from Marin Hartshorn. Nittany Lions senior Mary Muldoon cut down the lead with her 19th goal of the season, making it 7-6. However, Rutgers again regained the two-goal advantage and eventually took a three-goal lead for the first time in the game with scores from Jenna Byrne and Spilis, making it 9-6.

Gilmore cut the lead to two goals again, but it wasn’t long before Naslonski scored her second of the game, making things 10-7. A yellow card on Rutgers’ Stephanie Kelly put the Nittany Lions on the man advantage for two minutes. O’Neill fired a shot and put it past Rutgers goalie Sophia Cardello to make the score 10-8. Senior Sydney Wolfington scored on the rebound of a free-position shot by Gilmore and made it a one-goal game, 10-9, heading into halftime.

The third quarter started off strong for Penn State, but it wasn’t long before the Scarlet Knights got back on the board with a goal from Byrne, restoring a two-goal lead for Rutgers at 11-9. Penn State senior Kate Love later picked up a yellow card, giving Rutgers the man advantage it would later capitalize on. Soon after, Campo scored her third of the game to put the Scarlet Knights up 12-9. After Campo’s goal, head coach Missy Doherty made a goalie change for Penn State, pulling Bowen and putting in sophomore Cayden Jarvis.

The game stayed at 12-9 for about five minutes before Naslonski scored her third goal of the game for Rutgers, putting the team up 13-9. The score ultimately set a program record, as Naslonski is now the Scarlet Knights’ all-time leading scorer with 174 goals under her belt

Penn State’s Kayla Abernathy later netted a goal, cutting the Rutgers lead to three and making the score 13-10. However, Spilis restored Rutgers’ four-goal lead a short while later on a free-position shot, making the score 14-10 and marking the fourth hat trick of the day for a Scarlet Knight.

Early in the fourth quarter, Spilis buried her fourth of the game, giving Rutgers a five-goal lead at 15-10. The Nittany Lions continued to put up a fight when Gilmore netted her third score of the game, cutting the Rutgers lead to 15-11.

The Nittany Lions were able to keep it that way for about four minutes before Hartshorn netted her fourth of the game, making it 16-11. With an assist on Hartshorn’s goal, Stephanie Kelly became the Big Ten assist leader and all-time leader in career assists at Rutgers, marking two major program records set during the course of the game. Kelly also netted a goal on a free-position shot shortly after, making it 17-11.

Spilis scored again for Rutgers, making it 18-11. However, O’Neill picked up the hat trick for Penn State with her third of the day, cutting the Rutgers lead to 18-12. Following O’Neill’s goal, the Nittany Lions regained some energy, and freshmen Lauren Saltz scored her third of the season and the last goal of the game, making the score 18-13.

The game ended with that came 18-13 score. Rutgers goalie Sophia Cardello finished with 18 saves, while Penn State’s goalies had a combined four.

Player Of The Game

Brooke Hoss | Midfielder

Freshman Brooke Hoss has had a breakout first season with the Nittany Lions, scoring 23 goals and earning her hat trick in the first period today. Hoss scored three consecutive goals to keep Penn State in the running during the first period and stepped up big-time on draws.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will return to Panzer Stadium for their final home game of the season against Johns Hopkins on Thursday, April 28. The game, set for 6 p.m., will be available on the Big Ten Network.