Penn State women’s lacrosse (3-7, 1-2 Big Ten) defeated Oregon (5-5, 0-3 Big Ten) 19-10 on Sunday afternoon in Eugene, Oregon.

The game started strong, with the Nittany Lions picking up key ground balls and responding strongly with a powerful show from the defense that carried them through the first half.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions headed into the match at Pape Field with Sydney Manning starting in cage and Penn State hoping to end its winning drought.

The Ducks started off hot by grabbing the opening draw and moving down the field to Nittany Lions’ territory. A foul on Penn State and a free position attempt allowed the Ducks to notch their first goal of the afternoon and set the pace of the game.

The immediate goal still didn’t seem to shock the Nittany Lions into action as Anna Simmons won the following draw for Oregon and was immediately fouled by Penn State. Oregon didn’t maintain possession for long before Lauren Tinson forced a turnover leading to a ground ball pickup by Penn State’s Maggie Golder. A foul on Oregon allowed the Nittany Lions to clear the ball into Ducks territory and gain some momentum.

The momentum didn’t last long before Kelly MacKinney was forced into turning over the ball for a Ducks recovery. Oregon couldn’t seem to keep the ball and the Nittany Lions battled back and forth over ground balls for the following three minutes. A foul on Oregon and a failed free position attempt by Paige Crowther allowed Oregon to recover the ball, carry it down the field, and score its second goal of the afternoon.

With the score 2-0, the Nittany Lions looked tired and sluggish. After winning the following draw, Oregon moved the ball down the Manning and into the back of the cage, bringing the score to 3-0.

Coming out of the media timeout, Brooke Long secured her first draw win of the game and moved the ball down the sidelines to the Ducks cage. A foul on Oregon gave Eriko Ho the opportunity to open the scoring for the Nittany Lions, notching her 25th goal of the season.

Losing the following draw seemed to not be an issue for Penn State as Cailin Hetrick forced a turnover and allowed Maggie Golder to grab the ball in a ground ball pickup. A foul on Oregon allowed Penn State to clear the ball down the field. Another foul on Oregon gave Lauren Saltz the opportunity to score off of a free position attempt and close the scoring gap to 3-2.

The following seven minutes of the quarter proved to be a heated battle between the Ducks and Nittany Lions. Both Manning and Ducks goalie Paige Crowther made key saves allowing Ho, Emma Kelly, and Saltz to take shots on goal, all of which missed. Eventually, a foul on the Nittany Lions gave Oregon the chance to take three shots on Manning. The first two shots missed, but the third whizzed past Manning to the Ducks their fourth goal, ending the quarter 4-2.

Penn State started the second quarter strong with a foul on Oregon and Kelly snatching the opening draw. Another foul on Oregon allowed Saltz to put the ball in the back of the cage off of a free-position attempt. With the score 4-3, the Nittany Lions looked fired up and ready to continue their scoring streak. Ho grabbed the following draw and passed the ball down the sidelines into MacKinney’s stick. MacKinney passed the ball to Brooke Hoss, and Hoss evened the scoreboard 4-4.

The Ducks grabbed the next draw, but a turnover and foul, followed by two green cards on Oregon’s Rachel Pallo and Hazel Baker, positioned the Nittany Lions in position to Ducks territory. A critical turnover by Ellie Wisch gave Oregon the chance to regain possession off of a ground ball. Penn State started making critical errors by getting two fouls, and Payton Wainman received a green card.

Oregon took the opportunity to move the ball to the Nittany Lions’ territory and start taking shots. Ellie Hollin forced a turnover, allowing Manning to make a key ground ball pickup. Manning passed the ball down the field to Nittany Lions offenders, who hustled to the Oregon cage. A foul on Oregon allowed Penn State to take a free position attempt and score, giving the Nittany Lions their first lead for the afternoon.

The Ducks couldn’t keep up with the Nittany Lions as Maggie Rezza picked up a ground ball off of an Oregon turnover. Penn State wasted no time in moving the ball down the field and into the cage for Ho’s 26th goal of the season, bringing the score to 6-4.

Ho continued her hot streak by grabbing the following draw and feeding it to Long, who tossed the ball to Hoss. Hoss swiftly moved past Ducks defenders and scored, bringing the game to 7-4.

Up by three, the Nittany Lions looked like a well-oiled machine.

The following four minutes was an intense battle between the Oregon defense and Penn State offense. Penn State attempted two shots, both of which hit the post. Ho recovered one of the missed shots but lost possession to the Ducks’ defense. Oregon capitalized on Penn State’s turnover and moved the ball past Manning for their fifth goal of the game.

The rest of the half was a competitive back-and-forth, with both teams attempting shots but failing. With the clock winding down, Oregon picked up the ball off of a ground ball but couldn’t do anything before the halftime whistle.

Starting the half 7-5, the Nittany Lions didn’t look like they were slowing down any time soon. After the initial whistle, Ho grabbed the opening draw and the Nittany Lions moved the ball into Ducks territory and started their spree of shots. Both Elise Smiegel and Kelly’s shots went wide, but Saltz recovered the ball Saltz carried the ball past the defenders and notched her 14th goal of the season.

Oregon put up a good fight for the next four minutes with forced turnovers and ground ball pickups, but a save by Manning allowed the Nittany Lions to carry the ball down to the Ducks cage and bring the score to 9-5.

Oregon looked to be gaining momentum as they won the following draw and immediately carried the ball to the Nittany Lions cage. The shot by Oregon’s Jenae Sperling went high and Hollin recovered the ball. A foul on Oregon fave the Nittany Lions a free position attempt, but Golder’s shot was saved by Crowther. Two fouls on the Nittany Lions ended the Ducks’ scoring drought and made the score 9-6.

Long moved into center field for Penn State and won the following draw, but a turnover by Payton Wainman allowed Oregon to move toward Nittany Lions territory. A foul on Penn State allowed Oregon to score another goal back to back off of a free position attempt.

Looking angry and determined, Ho moved back into center field and immediately snatched the draw. Two fouls on Oregon put the Nittany Lions in scoring position off of a free position attempt. The attempt didn’t go to waste, and Ho scored the tenth goal for Penn State.

Ho’s goal flipped a switch in the Nittany Lions, and the team played more aggressively and purposefully. Saltz strategically took over the draw for Ho. She won the draw and hustled toward the Oregon cage before eventually dishing the ball to the Ho. Wasting no time, Ho moved the ball past Oregon’s goalie and scored her second straight goal.

Penn State continued to run circles around Oregon’s defense and scored four more goals within the final three minutes of the half. The Nittany Lions entered the fourth quarter on fire, leading Oregon 15-7.

Oregon started the final quarter on the wrong foot as they lost the opening draw to Ho and Simmons earned a yellow card. The foul on Oregon set up Penn State for a free position attempt that was ultimately saved. Oregon carried the ball down the field but after a shot went wide, Penn State recovered the ball and tried capitalizing on being a man-up with Hoss widening the lead to 16-7.

The following three minutes were a continuous back in forth with a critical turnover by Manning, allowing Oregon to score its eighth goal to slow down the Nittany Lions. The Ducks then called a timeout.

Following the timeout, Oregon couldn’t seem to find its footing. Saltz took the opening draw, and a foul on Oregon gave Penn State a chance to score. While Hoss’ shot went wide, Saltz recovered the miss and scored the 17th goal for Penn State.

Oregon quickly answered as it snatched the opening draw and carried the ball down the field and into the back of the cage.

Penn State didn’t let this goal slow it down as it immediately sent Ho into center field to take the draw. Two fouls and a green card on Oregon put Penn State in position to score off of a free-position attempt, but the shot was saved and picked up by Hollin.

The Nittany Lions and Ducks couldn’t get any clear shots off for the next five minutes until two of Oregon’s players were given yellow cards. Down two players, Oregon couldn’t stop Penn State from scoring goal No. 18. Penn State continued to widen the scoring gap after Lilly Spilker recovered a turnover by Oregon and passed it to MacKinney. MacKinney quickly fed the ball to Smigiel and into the back of the net.

With less than a minute left and the clock continuously running due to the 10-point deficit, Oregon won the following draw and carried it past Nittany Lions defenders, ending the match 19-10.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s offense was key in this match. Over the last six losses, the offense has been slow the say the least. Sunday’s match changed things for the offense as it looked aggressive and capitalized off of shot opportunities.
• The Nittany Lions need to start picking up turnovers when possible. Whether it be when the opposing team misses shots and is trying to recover, Penn State needs to be there to recover these critical misses to slow down the opposition.
• This was a critical win for the Nittany Lions. After losing six straight games, the Nittany Lions looked like they were able to maintain the pace throughout the entire game, and not lose composure when Oregon scored back-to-back.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions continue their season on the road against No. 11 Michigan at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 30, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.