Penn State women’s lacrosse (4-7, 2-2 Big Ten) defeated No. 10 Michigan (7-4, 2-2 Big Ten) 13-12 in a nail-biting game Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

After a hard-fought game, Penn State pulled it together for a last-minute win for its second straight victory.

How It Happened

Starting off strong, the Nittany Lions rolled out their starting 11 with sophomore and breakout star Sydney Manning in the cage with Lauren Saltz taking center field for the opening draw.

Saltz immediately started the game off strong for the Nittany Lions by snatching the opening goal and sending it up the field. Although Payton Wainman lost the ball in a turnover to Michigan, Cailin Hetrick forced Michigan’s Julia Schwabe into a turnover. After Hetrick recovered the ball in a ground ball pickup, the Nittany Lions worked their way into Wolverine territory. Wasting no time, Brooke Hoss grabbed the ball and forced it past the Michigan goalie to strike first.

Up 1-0, the Nittany Lions gave the Wolverines no time to warm up. Quickly, Brooke Long grabbed the next draw and passed it to Erika Ho. Ho took a shot on goal, but it was saved by Erin O’Grady. Michigan cleared the ball down the field, and a foul on Penn State’s Lilly Spilker gave Michigan a free position shot. The shot went high, but another foul on Spilker allowed Kaylee Dyer to open the scoring for the Wolverines.

Michigan sent Dyer to take the following draw. Michigan quickly fumbled the possession, allowing Penn State to recover the ball. Ho capitalized on this mistake and scored her first goal of the game.

The Nittany Lions moved Emma Kelly into center field over Saltz. Kelly scored off the following draw, but multiple fouls on Penn State’s defense gave Michigan the chance to score off of a free position attempt. Ava Class took the attempt and secured her 20th goal for the season.

Tied 2-2, Ho took her attempt at the draw. After grabbing the ball and dishing to Wainman, Wainman is forced into a turnover. A clear attempt by Michigan and a foul on Penn State allowed Michigan to keep the ball in Nittany Lions territory. With the match in a standstill for the next five minutes, a turnover by Wainman let Michigan recover the ball and score.

In the lead for the first time, Michigan looked tired and lethargic. With 20 seconds left in the first quarter, Saltz grabbed the draw and made a beautiful pass down the field. Long grabbed the ball and scored with two seconds left in the quarter, bringing the score to 3-3.

Starting the second half tied, Saltz grabbed the opening draw for the Nittany Lions.

Two fouls on Michigan offenders allowed Elise Smigiel to take a shot, but O’Grady made the stop. The Wolverines recovered the failed shot and cleared the ball down the field to Penn State defenders. However, a foul on Michigan allowed the Nittany Lions to move the ball back as Hoss and Ho both took shots on cage, though, both attempts failed. Ho recovered her missed shot and scored on the next attempt.

Leading by one, Ho hustled to center field to take the following draw. A green card on Michigan allowed Hoss to take a shot, but the attempt went wide. Starting to look sloppy with a yellow card, a turnover by Hoss, and a foul on Spilker gave Michigan a free position attempt. After it couldn’t do much with the attempt, Michigan recovered the ball and try to take a shot on goal. Manning made a crucial save and sent the ball down the field. Ho, although a man down, didn’t let this stop her from rushing toward the Wolverines’ cage and scoring yet another goal for the Nittany Lions.

With the score 5-3, the Nittany Lions started looking tired and began making crucial errors. With the Nittany Lions defense racking up four fouls over the following four minutes, the Wolverines made up the two-point deficit

The Nittany Lions answered quickly and scored minutes later off of a recovery made by Penn State’s Delaney Radin and a free position attempt from Kelly.

Penn State lost the following draw as Michigan worked the ball past Nittany Lion defenders, bringing the score to 6-5.

In the last minute of the half, Saltz moves back into center field and grabs the ball. With two fouls on Michigan defenders, Kelly MacKinney was given a free position attempt that’s saved by O’Grady.

The Nittany Lions spend the following 30 seconds trying to get a shot off, and Ho finally weaved the ball past the Wolverine goalie to end the half 7-5.

Coming out of halftime, the Nittany Lions looked like they had no thoughts of slowing down. Similar to the past two quarters, Penn State scored within the first few minutes off of a foul on Michigan’s defense.

With a three point deficit, the Wolverines looked like they were starting to wake up. The next five minutes were a heated battle with a crease violation on Michigan allowing Penn State to clear the ball down the field. A failed shot by Saltz gave Michigan the opportunity to recover the ball and carry it down the field to Manning. Unable to manage the quick turn around, Penn State’s defense was bested by Michigan’s offense, and Jill Smith notched her 26th goal of the season.

Coming out of the media timeout, Penn State looked composed and put together. With seamless passes and quick footwork, Penn State blew past Michigans defense, giving Hoss the chance to get goal No. 22 of the season.

Hoping to gain some sense of composure, Michigan sent Smith back into center field to take the draw. After losing possession due to a forced turnover by Spilker, Hollin recovered the ball and made a clear attempt down the field. A foul on Michigan put Penn State in scoring range, but the free position attempt was, once again, saved by O’Grady. MacKinney recovered the ball and sent it down to Hoss, but Hoss’ shot attempt hit the post. Michigan recovers the missed goal, clears it down the field and swiftly moves it past Manning.

With the score 9-7, and less than three minutes left in the quarter, Saltz seemed determined to grab the next draw. After getting the ball, Saltz sprints to Michigan’s cage. A foul on the Wolverines allow Saltz to score off of a free position attempt.

Although up three, the Nittany Lions started falling apart again. Saltz and Hollin earne fouls, but Michigan’s free position attempt was saved by Manning. Michigan picked up the ball and was immediately fouled by Long. With less than a minute left, the Wolverines eventually ended the quarter on a goal.

Entering the final quarter up by two, the Nittany Lions have a slow start. With the first six minutes going by with neither team able to get a shot off, a shot clock violation allowed Michigan to clear the ball down the field for a goal by Smith.

A moment later, Kelly’s turnover allowed the Wolverines to take three shots on Manning. All three shots missed, and a yellow card on Smith allows the Nittany Lions to regroup and try to gain some sort of semblance. After recovering the ball, Ho took the ball and immediately rips a shot on cage. While the first goes wide, Ho’s second attempt made its way into the net.

Michigan answered quickly by scoring seconds later after Smith dishes the ball to Dyer.

With a one-point game, Penn State tried to slow down the Michigan offense but failed. Michigan took two shots on cage, with the first going wide and the second saved by Manning. After recovering Michigan’s failed attempt, a foul on Michigan allowed Hoss to send the ball to MacKinney for her seventh goal of the season.

With time winding down, Penn State lost its footing in a critical turnover that’s recovered by the Wolverines. A foul on Maggie Golder allowed Michigan to close the scoring gap with a goal off of a free position attempt.

A 12-11 score gave fire to the Wolverines’ offense as it quickly move the ball back into Nittany Lions territory. With two minutes left in the game, a crucial save by Manning allowed the Nittany Lions to clear the ball down the field, but a turnover and foul on Ho ruined any sort of momentum for Penn State. Michigan capitalized on the foul and tie the game with a minute left.

In the next 30 seconds, Michigan carried to ball to Penn State’s cage, but Manning was there to make a huge save.

Penn State takes a timeout with seven seconds left.

Unable to do anything in the final seconds, Penn State and Michigan went into overtime.

With six minutes on the clock, Penn State lost the opening draw to Michigan. The Wolverines wasted no time moving past the Nittany Lions defense, trying to get a shot on goal. The shot was saved and recovered by Manning, who sent the ball down the sidelines to Penn State’s offense. Ho secured the ball and charged ahead to get the ball to Kelly. Kelly wasted no time to rip a gorgeous shot that flew past Michigan’s goalie to end the game 13-12.

Takeaways

• Penn State is starting to find their groove, especially on offense. With a monstrous 19 shots on goal, the Nittany Lions were smart with their free position attempts and didn’t force lazy shots.
• Manning is the piece the Nittany Lions needed to start winning games. She not only makes critical saves, but she is able to recover the missed shots in ground ball pick ups that make their way to Penn State’s waiting offenders on the sidelines.
• The Nittany Lions did a fantastic job pacing the game. With securing most of the draw controls, Penn State was able to keep the ball away from Wolverine attackers in the first few minutes after scoring.

What’s Next?

Penn State ends its string of away games by hosting Rutgers at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 3, Panzer Stadium.