Penn State women’s lacrosse (2-2) lost to Pitt (2-1) 12-10 on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

The Panthers scored 11 unanswered goals in the first half but were held to just one goal in the second half. Despite the comeback attempt, the Nittany Lions fell short, losing by two.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions took the opening draw but gave it up on an early turnover. Maggie Rezza picked up a groundball before Jill Fenech was given a yellow card. Erika Ho opened the scoring for the Nittany Lions on a free position shot and Penn State took a 1-0 lead with less than three minutes gone in the game.

Pitt took the next draw and Paige Kawa tied the game just 40 seconds later. After an empty possession from both sides, Ho was called for a foul and Jenna Hendrickson put the Panthers up 2-1.

Kelly MacKinney was given a yellow card and Hendrickson scored her second goal of the game on a free-position shot to put the Panthers up 3-1 and force a Penn State timeout. Avery Moon added another goal three minutes later to push the lead to 4-1.

Rachel Familetti was given a yellow card but the Nittany Lions couldn’t capitalize on the advantage. Emma Kelly sent a shot wide as Penn State committed a shot clock violation. The Panthers went the other way and Sydney Naylor cashed in on a free shot to put them up 5-1 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.

Hendrickson and Moon added two goals on back-to-back possessions at the end of the quarter and Pitt led 7-1.

Pitt began the second quarter with a win on the draw and registered a shot before a foul on Jill French led to a Naylor goal to put the Panthers up by seven. Pitt won the next draw and managed another shot attempt before Penn State cleared but couldn’t produce any offense.

A yellow card on Emma Kelly gave Pitt a player advantage, and Jill Fenech cashed in as the Panthers led 9-1. Emily Coughlin added another goal after a yellow card on Cailin Hetrick with nine minutes remaining in the first half.

The Nittany Lions finally gained possession but a shot from MacKinney went wide and Penn State remained with only one shot-on-goal. Pitt cleared following the shot but Ashley Bowen saved a shot by Kawa and the Nittany Lions eventually gained possession.

A free position shot from MacKinney was no good and Pitt got the ball back. With five minutes left in the half, Naylor scored again and the Panthers led 11-1. Ho won the ensuing draw and Brooke Hoss received a free shot and ended the Nittany Lions’ scoring drought, bringing the score to 11-2. Smigiel added another goal a minute later to bring the score to 11-3.

Ho won another draw but Molly Cain made a save before Allie Meyer retained possession for the Nittany Lions. Maggie Rezza took a shot but Cain made another save with thirty seconds left in the half. Abby Thorne was given a yellow card as the first half came to an end with Pitt leading 11-3.

The Nittany Lions took the draw to open the second half but couldn’t find the back of the net on the next possession. After a turnover by Pitt, the Nittany Lions committed another shot clock violation and Pitt got the ball. Pitt called a timeout after regaining possession on a Penn State turnover.

The first goal of the second half came on a free shot from Hoss, her fifth of the season. The goal put Penn State within seven at 11-4. Two minutes later, Penn State couldn’t convert on a free position shot but didn’t give up a goal on the next Pitt possession.

After a clear, Hoss scored another goal to make the score 11-5. The Nittany Lions’ run ended as Naylor put the Panthers back on the board and pushed the score to 12-5 with 2:34 left in the third quarter.

Ally Lipkin was given a yellow card as the quarter came to an end.

The Nittany Lions entered the final frame trailing by seven as both teams had empty possessions to start. Penn State broke through nearly four minutes into the fourth quarter and got within six at 12-6 after a goal from Delaney Radin.

Hendrickson was given a yellow card before the Nittany Lions scored on a free position shot to make it 12-7. Lauren Saltz added another Nittany Lion goal a minute later to get Penn State within four at 12-8 with just under eight minutes remaining, forcing a Pitt timeout.

Penn State managed to keep the ball in its own end for a sustained possession, but Pitt was able to clear eventually after no shots from the Nittany Lions. After a foul on Fenech, Kelly found the back of the net and cut the deficit to three at 12-9 with three minutes remaining.

Ho continued the comeback effort thirty seconds later and Penn State trailed 12-10 as Pitt called a timeout.

Sydney Manning reentered the game with less than two minutes remaining as Pitt committed a shot clock violation with just 12 seconds remaining. The Nittany Lions couldn’t clear and the game ended 12-10

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions’ defense struggled in the first half, giving up 11 goals. Sydney Manning started the day in goal for the Nittany Lions but was pulled in favor of Ashley Bowan before Manning reentered with just under two minutes left.
• Penn State struggled to generate any offense for much of the first half on Tuesday. The Nittany Lions ended the first half with just three goals on five shots.
• After Penn State scored the opening goal, the Panthers scored 11 straight. Despite only scoring one goal in the second half, the big lead built in the first half was enough for the Panthers to hang on to win.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions return home to face Drexel at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26.