Penn State women’s lacrosse (2-7, 0-2 Big Ten) fell 17-6 to No. 3 Northwestern (7-1, 1-0 Big Ten) in Evanston on Sunday afternoon.

Northwestern showed up in typical fashion with aggressive defense and incredible ball management that gave the Nittany Lions their sixth straight loss of the season. The Nittany Lions started the game with critical mistakes, which led to detrimental fouls and free position attempts. After seeming to find their footing in the third quarter, the Nittany Lions weren’t able to manage a comeback.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions rolled out their starting 11 against the Wildcats in their first Big Ten road game with Sydney Manning in cage and Erika Ho taking the opening draw.

Ho looked explosive in the opening draw as she quickly grabbed the ball to start strong for the Nittany Lions. Immediately, a foul was handed to Northwestern’s Mary Carroll, and Penn State carried to ball to Wildcat territory.

A turnover by Payton Wainman and foul on Kate Dougherty allowed the Wildcats to get their first shot on goal but that shot missed and was picked up by the Nittany Lions. With the ball going back and forth between the teams for a few minutes, a foul on Cailin Hetrick allowed the Wildcats to get their first goal of the match in a free position attempt.

The Nittany Lions looked composed after the goal as Nittany Lions Ellie Hollin forced a turnover, allowing the team to carry the ball down the sidelines for a shot on goal. Emma Kelly’s shot went high, but Ho recovered the ball and took an immediate shot on the cage to notch her 22nd goal of the season.

With the score 1-1, Lauren Saltz moved into center field to take the draw and gained possession. Saltz quickly lost the ball to Madison Taylor, who carried to ball down to Nittany Lions territory. After a shot on cage and a save by Manning, Maggie Golder regained possession for the Nittany Lions.

The possession was short-lived as Kelly MacKinney lost the ball to the Wildcats, who scored their second goal.

Northwestern won the following draw but turned the ball over just in time for the Nittany Lions to recover. Unable to maintain possession, Penn State turned the ball over. Hustling down the field, Northwestern swiftly carried the ball across the cage and into the back of the net.

Ho stepped back into center field and won the draw but a foul and yellow card was given to Brooke Hoss. Down a player, the Nittany Lions looked flustered. Ho fouled a Wildcat and earned a green card. Northwestern begun its string of shots on goal, with the first going high and the second saved by Manning.

Back in the game, Hoss got the ball and took a shot on goal, but the shot went high. The Wildcats recovered and carried the ball down the field and past Manning, ending the first quarter with the score 1-4.

Immediately, the Nittany Lions started the second quarter on the wrong foot. A foul on Golder allowed the Wildcats to score off of a free position attempt.

The fouls continued as Hollin was handed a foul and Northwestern carried the ball toward Manning. Manning made a critical save, and Hollin picked up the ground ball. Moving the ball down the field, Ho attempts a shot but it goes wide.

The ball’s picked up by Northwestern and past Penn State’s defense, but Manning makes a huge save. Manning dishes the ball to the sidelines and Brooke Long is able to pass the ball to Maggie Rezza for her second goal of the season.

With the score 5-2, Ho won the draw, but both she and Northwestern’s Sammy White were given fouls. Northwestern gains the ball and takes it down the field for their sixth goal.

A few seconds later, after a foul on Penn State’s Elise Smigiel, Taylor scores another goal for the Wildcats.

The Nittany Lions began to look defeated and lethargic. Saltz tried to change this by winning the draw, but a turnover by Long gave the Wildcats the opportunity to move the ball back down the field. Another foul on Golder allowed Taylor to score her third straight goal for Northwestern, bringing the score to -82 and forcing a Penn State timeout.

The time-out didn’t do much for the Nittany Lions as Sam Smith won the draw control for the Wildcats and passed the ball up the field for yet another goal.

Things started to look up for the Nittany Lions as Taylor was given a yellow card and MacKinney took a shot on goal, though it went wide. Northwestern recovered the ball and moved down the field as Ally Lipkin was given a foul. Golder was then given her third foul of the game, but a shot clock violation on the Wildcats allowed the Nittany Lions to recover the ball.

Saltz got a shot on goal, but the shot was saved. Northwestern recovered and, after a few shots on goal, White found the back of the net, moving the score to 2-10.

With an eight-point deficit, the Nittany Lions put Long at center field, and she won the draw. However, a foul on Maggie Rezza brings the ball to Nittany Lions defense.

After a much-needed halftime, the Nittany Lions took the field, and Hollin and Dougherty were both given fouls. The fouls allowed the Wildcats to open the scoring for the second half off of a free position attempt.

With the score 11-2, Ho won the draw and passed the ball up the field. Two fouls on Wildcat players offered the Nittany Lions an opportunity to score, but the shot was saved. A turnover and foul on Northwestern allowed Ho to end the Nittany Lions scoring drought and brought the score to 11-3.

Soon after, Hoss fed the ball to MacKinney, who placed the ball in the back of the cage for another Nittany Lions goal.

White secured the next draw for the Wildcats, and Wisch was given a foul, allowing the Wildcats to take a shot on Manning. Manning made the save, and Penn State cleared the ball into Northwestern territory. MacKinney took a shot but the shot went wide and Northwestern picked up the ground ball.

Niki Miles got the ball past Manning for her ninth goal of the season.

Penn State found a way to maintain composure after the goal as Ho won possession and dished to MacKinney, who lost the ball in a turnover. The Wildcats once again charged toward Penn State’s cage but Manning was there to make a tough save. The Nittany Lions capitalized off of Manning’s save, and Ho found Hoss, who sent the ball into the net to make the score 12-6.

The Wildcats won the next draw, but Golder was there to force a turnover, and the Nittany Lions moved the ball into shooting territory. After a miss from Ho, Satlz recovered the ball and took a shot, though Northwestern made another save.

Ho was then forced into a turnover after recovering the ball, and the Wildcats cleared the ball down the field. A foul on Long gave Northwestern a free position attempt, and Taylor scored her 44th goal of the season.

Kelly won the next draw, but a series of fouls on both Penn State and Northwestern disrupted any chance of either team scoring before the third quarter whistle.

Opening the fourth quarter, Ho secured the first draw, but it was quickly turned over and sent toward the Nittany Lions goal. A free position attempt was given to the Wildcats, but Manning was there to make the save. Saltz picked up the ground ball but failed to clear the ball down the field. A foul on Ho gave the Wildcats an opportunity to take a shot, but Manning made another save.

The save allowed the Nittany Lions to clear the ball downfield, and a foul on Northwestern allowed Long to take a free position shot. The shot moved past the Wildcats’ goalie and gave Long her first goal of the season, bringing the score to 13-7.

Long moved back to center field to secure the following draw, and a foul on the Wildcats allowed Ho to take a shot. The shot went wide, and the ball was given to Northwestern as Penn State iswaspenalized for a shot clock violation.

Northwestern didn’t stay in Nittany Lions territory for long before Holling picked up a ground ball and cleared the ball down the sidelines. Two fouls on Northwestern players set Ho up for a free position shot, but the shot went wide. A turnover by Penn State and green card to Nittany Lion’s Lauren Tinson allowed Northwestern to push the ball into Northwestern territory.

Dougherty then fouled a Wildcat attacker, giving them a free position attempt. The shot was saved by Manning, but Golder commited a foul and was given a yellow card. With a man-advantage, Northwestern made the most of it by scoring its 14th goal of the afternoon.

Feeling the momentum from their goal, the Wildcats won the draw and moved the ball down the field. However, a turnover gave the Nittany Lions possession, which was then easily turned over back into Wildcat sticks. A foul on Hollin allowed the Wildcats to score another goal off of a free position attempt.

With a little over a minute left the Wildcats score their 16th goal and brought the score to 16-7.

The final minute allowed Penn State to win possession of the ball and take multiple shots, but both of Wisch’s shots failed to make it to the back of the net before the final whistle.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s biggest opponent is itself. With clumsy mistakes that led to turnovers and many fouls, Northwestern scored easy goals while Penn State players were sidelined for yellow cards and free position attempts.
• Golder is a critical piece in getting the Nittany Lions back on track against these top-ranked teams. She is undoubtedly a good player, but her fouls kill the Penn State defense. In the first half alone she made up three of the of the defense’s six fouls, two of which led to goals off of free position attempts.
• Head coach Missy Doherty needs to keep Manning in goal. After replacing veteran Ashley Bowan, Manning has proved to be able to handle the pressure of high-intensity teams like Maryland and Northwestern, while also making key saves.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions head to the West Coast to take on Oregon at 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 23, at Pape Field.