Penn State women’s lacrosse (2-1) defeated Pitt (1-2) 13-5 on Tuesday afternoon in Happy Valley.

The Nittany Lions exploded in the first half, scoring seven goals to Pitt’s two. The defense was rarely tested and stood strong, not giving Pitt much to take advantage of. The fourth quarter fell apart somewhat for the Nittany Lions, as Pitt grabbed last-minute goals and controlled the tempo, but the Nittany Lions were able to hold on to their win.

How It Happened

Penn State won the opening draw and drew the first shot, with Kristin O’Neill falling into the crease to get it off, but it was saved by Audrey Moran. O’Neill won a free position shot and bounced it in to draw the first blood with 11:57 left in the first.

Penn State got fired up after this goal, with an abundance of energy coming out on offense. Both sides traded shots until Kayla Abernathy went down hurt for the Nittany Lions and had to be taken off with 8:48 left.

Penn State was granted another two free position shots, with Payton Wainman stepping up for both and finding the back of the net on her second attempt to put it up by two halfway through the first quarter.

The Nittany Lions went a woman-up for a minute and immediately jumped on the advantage as Kayla Abernathy returned to the field and blasted in her shot.

Two minutes later, Wainman secured a brace during another woman-up advantage, receiving the ball on the crease and blasting it past Moran to make it 4-0 for Penn State. Neither team could find a breakthrough through the last four minutes of the quarter and the score remained 4-0.

The start of the second quarter brought back-and-forth possession with only two shots, both from Penn State, which was able to come off the sticks. Penn State called a timeout before its breakthrough came through after four minutes when Lauren Saltz bounced a shot in directly in front of the goal. Brooke Hoss grabbed one of her own right after.

After nearly 22 scoreless minutes, Pitt pulled one back through Emily Coughlin to get on the scoreboard and make it 6-1.

Despite being barely tested in the first half, Sydney Manning posted a big save for the Nittany Lions with five minutes to go and sent it to O’Neill who sprinted off downfield but the attack was foiled and Pitt regained possession.

The Nittany Lions went a woman-up again and O’Neill capitalized on it, grabbing her brace for the day with just under two minutes left in the half.

Pitt called a timeout and came back from a vengeance, sprinting downfield and blasting a rocket into the net to make it 7-2 to end the half.

It took virtually no time for Penn State to get on offense to start the second half, winning a free position shot in under a minute. The shot went over but it regained possession and another free position shot, this time converted by Hoss.

Two more quick goals came for the Nittany Lions, with O’Neill and Wainman both pushing the ball in above Moran’s head to make it 10-2.

The Panthers grabbed their first goal of the second half with just over five minutes left in the third through Avery Moon. O’Neill wasted no time in pulling another back to make it 11-3 for Penn State and return Pitt’s deficit to eight.

There were frenzied turnovers and Penn State slowed down its attack a bit to end the third quarter, 11-3.

The Panthers won a free position shot of their own to start the third quarter but opted to pass it around instead of taking the quick shot. They attempted a no-look, behind-the-shoulder shot that went wide and gave possession back to the Nittany Lions. They quickly won a free position shot, converted by Emma Kelly for her first of the night.

Pitt won the draw and streaked downfield, just to win a free position shot of its own. Jenna Hendrickson grabbed the rebound and rolled to score Pitt’s fourth goal of the night with ten minutes to go. Maureen McNierney quickly followed up with a rocket to make it 12-5.

Penn State started to falter a bit in the fourth after giving up those goals, failing to get a shot off before the shot clock ran out. Pitt controlled the tempo for eight minutes before Penn State was able to score through Meghan Murray after an 11-minute drought.

It held on to secure its 13-5 win.

Takeaways

• While not overly tested today, Penn State’s defense was strong. Penn State caused ten turnovers while only giving up four and never gave Pitt much momentum to work off of.
• Penn State seemed to falter a bit in the fourth, giving up those two back-to-back goals and failing to get a shot off before the shot clock ran out. It went through an 11-minute scoring drought while it fought to regain its footing but was able to score and secure its win.
• Wainman had herself a day, being a force to reckon with on attack. She scored her first hat trick today and her presence on the field showed for it, always threatening the defense.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will stay in Happy Valley to take on Princeton at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 24.