Penn State women’s lacrosse (2-5) fell to No. 5 Maryland (4-1) 19-11 on Thursday afternoon in Panzer Stadium.

The Nittany Lions showed up strong against the Terrapins, but the home-field advantage wasn’t enough to help the Nittany Lions pull out a win. With a strong first half and eight goals in the first half, Penn State found it difficult to find its groove in the second half.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions decided to shake things up by having Sydney Manning start in the cage over seasoned veteran Ashley Bowan. Erika Ho took the opening draw for the Nittany Lions.

The game was off to a hot start with a green card handed to Ho and Maryland’s Jordyn Lipkin capitalizing off the foul with the first goal of the game for the Terps.

The Nittany Lions quickly answered the Terps by scoring their first goal minutes later with a beautiful pass from Brooke Long to Elise Smigiel for her seventh goal of the season. With the game tied 1-1 in the first few minutes, the Nittany Lions looked hungry to get another goal.

The next draw control by Maryland’s Neve O’Ferrall proved to not be a challenge for Penn State as the Nittany Lions defense stayed strong with Kate Dougherty forcing a turnover. The turnover was then picked up by Penn State’s Ellie Hollin.

After two back-to-back fouls on the Terps, Ho scored off of a free-position attempt to put the Nittany Lions in the lead for the first time.

Starting the next draw up 2-1, Maggie Rezza gained draw control for the Nittany Lions and swiftly moved the ball down the field. After a foul on the Terps, Emma Kelly put the ball in the back of the cage.

Maryland got another draw control win and moved the ball quickly down the field for Kori Edmondson to get her 16th goal of the season. Bringing the score to 3-2, the Nittany Lions looked tired and unable to stop the Terps from working the ball down the field.

After Gilmore’s back-to-back draw control win, and a back-to-back foul on Nittany Lions’ Lauren Saltz and Long, Maryland was given a free position attempt. Although the shot was missed, a turnover by Long allowed the Terps to move the ball down the field and into the cage to tie the match 3-3.

Trying to maintain composure, Nittany Lion’s Caillin Hetrick picked up a crucial ground ball in Maryland territory. With two fouls on Maryland and a clumsy turnover and foul on Kelly, Maryland got a shot on cage. The shot went wide and with a turnover forced by Hollin, Kelly MacKinney was able to send the ball to Brooke Hoss for the Nittany Lions’ fourth goal.

Closing the first quarter with four goals and Long forcing a turnover on Emma Abbazia, the Nittany Lions showed they were setting the pace for the game.

Opening the second quarter off with a bang, Ho snatched the ball in the air for her first draw win of the quarter. A foul on the Terps and a ground ball pickup by Wisch allowed MacKinney to get her second assist of the afternoon as she sent the ball to Saltz to notch the Nittany Lion’s fifth goal.

The Nittany Lions won another draw control, this time from Kelly. Kelly got the ball down the field for MacKinney to get a shot on a cage, but Maryland’s goalie deflected the ball. After a free position attempt off of a foul on Terp’s Sophie Halus, Saltz put the ball in the cage for the second time in the quarter.

With the score 6-3, the Nittany Lions seemed relaxed after a clumsy foul given to Ho allowed Maryland to get a shot off. The shot was saved by Manning and sent up to Terps territory with Wisch ripping a shot on cage that went wide. A foul and yellow card given to Maryland allowed the Nittany Lions to take a free position attempt.

Even though the shot hits the post of the goal cage, Long was there to capture a beautiful ground ball and send the ball to MacKinney. MacKinney then sent the ball to Wisch for goal No. 7 for Penn State.

Maryland decided to take its first timeout of the match.

Coming off of the goal and timeout, Wisch secures the ball for the Nittany Lions. A foul on Lilly Spilker gave the Terps a free position attempt that was turned over by Manning, though she recovered the ball.

With the ball being sent down the side to Terps territory, Maryland’s goalie looked prepared as she saved a shot from Saltz and a free position shot from MacKinney. Maryland recovered the missed shot and sent it down the field to Shelby Sullivan for her first goal of the game.

With the score 7-4, Maryland looked determined to score another goal and quickly. The Nittany Lions start the next play on the wrong foot with a foul on both Kelly and Hollin. With a free position attempt given to Maryland that went wide, the Terps got another attempt off of a foul on Maggie Golder. Abbazia scores on the free position shot and brings the score to 7-5.

After losing the next draw, the Nittany Lions wasted no time in forcing a turnover and recovered the ball. Shortly after, Maryland forced a turnover and sent the ball to Maisy Clevenger for her ninth goal of the season.

Trailing by one, the Terps quickly passed the ball down the field after winning the draw and score another goal off of a pass from Clevenger to Lipkin.

With the game tied 7-7, the Nittany Lions gook their first time out of the game.

Coming out of the timeout, the Nittany Lions looked ready to fight, but a turnover by Saltz and recovery by the Terps allowed Edmonson to put a goal in the cage and bring the Terps in the lead for the first time of the second quarter.

The goal seemed to shock the Nittany Lions into overdrive as Ho forced a turnover on the Terps and sent the ball down the field for Hoss to take a shot. Although the shot went wide, a foul on Maryland allowed Penn State to take a free position attempt. A turnover by Kelly allowed the Terps to move the ball down the field to Nittany Lions territory and score after a foul on Kelly.

With the score 7-9, Ho tried to notch another goal after winning the draw and moving the ball down the field. A foul on Maryland allowed Hoss to take a shot, but it went high. The Nittany Lions recover the ball and Ho scored, bringing the Nittany Lions to a one-point deficit.

Looking tired and unable to find their footing, the Terps won draw control and quickly send the ball to Gilmore to close the half with a goal. The Nittany Lions tried to end the half on a high note by forcing a turnover, but the turnover didn’t do much as the Terps recovered the ball.

Nittany Lions entered halftime down two with the score 10-8 and Bowan replacing Manning in goal.

Starting the second half on the right note, Erika won her first draw of the third quarter. A foul on two Maryland players gave the Nittany Lions an opportunity to score, but the shot failed, and the Terps recovered the ball. The Terps capitalized on the possession by putting the ball in the back of the cage and starting the half up 8-11.

The Terrapins continued their hot streak by scoring three more goals within the next two minutes, creating a five-point barrier between themselves and the Nittany Lions.

With the score 14-8, the Nittany Lions looked tired and sluggish before taking their first timeout.

The timeout didn’t do much for the Nittany Lions as Saltz was forced into a turnover after winning the draw. Maryland then recovered the ball and scored its 15th goal of the match.

Kelly won the draw and sent the ball into Terps territory. The Nittany Lions couldn’t capitalize off of three fouls, as Saltz’s free position attempt went high. Maryland then recovered the ball and sent it up to Megan Kenny, who scored her first goal of the season.

The remaining eight minutes of the quarter proved to be a heated back-and-forth between the two teams while Sydney replaced Bowan.

A ground ball recovery and foul allows Penn State to get a free position attempt. Unable to score, the Terps and Nittany Lions bat the ball back and forth until the quarter ends.

Starting the final quarter with Kelly winning draw control, a foul on Maryland puts Ho in position to score. Unable to get the ball past Maryland’s goalie, and with a foul on Golder, the Terps had the opportunity to score, but the shot was saved by Manning. Penn State clears the ball down the field for Hoss to pull the Nittany Lions out of a brutal rut and pull the score to 16-9.

The Terps pulled off a strong response by scoring two goals back-to-back, bringing the goal to 18-9. With Maggie Rezza taking the draw for Penn State, she won the draw, and a foul on Maryland allowed Penn State’s Ally Lipkin to take a shot on goal. The shot was saved and recovered by the Terps. With a turnover forced by Kelly MacKinney, the Nittany Lions found their groove and scored with seven minutes left.

While the Nittany Lions tried to stay strong, multiple fouls and a yellow card on the Nittany Lions allowed the Terps to score off of a free position attempt to bring the score to 10-19.

Long started the next play strong by winning draw control and feeding the ball to Wisch for a shot on goal, though the shot was saved. A yellow card on Maryland gave Penn State the edge to score a goal with less than a minute left. With the game winding down and a score of 19-11, the Nittany Lions maintained possession and ended the match with a shot attempt by Ho, but the shot went wide.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions looked strong in the first half but fell apart quickly once Maryland showed signs of picking up momentum.
• After a tough loss to Princeton, Penn State recovered critical ground balls and draw controls. With 16 draw control wins, the Nittany Lions did an excellent job making sure draw controls resulted in productive plays and maintaining possession.
• Shots on goal need to be made smarter and quicker. Most of the time, shots on goal are taken with defenders crowding the shooter and if there are shooting attempts made, they aren’t done fluidly.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions head to Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium to face off against No. 3 Northeastern at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 16.