Penn State women’s lacrosse (5-7, 3-2 Big Ten) bested Rutgers (8-4, 2-1 Big Ten) 12-10 Thursday night in Panzer Stadium.

The Nittany Lions and Scarlet Knights were off to a heated start. Each team scored minutes within the first quarter and maintained intensity throughout the match. After a rain storm rolled through State College, the Nittany Lions maintained composure and pulled out a win to notch their third straight Big Ten win of the season.

How It Happened

After a nail-biting game in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Nittany Lions were finally back in Panzer Stadium to take on the Scarlet Knights. Penn State started Sydney Manning in cage while Erika Ho took center field to take the opening draw.

Within the first minute, Ho snatched the opening draw and dished the ball to Brooke Hoss. A foul on the Scarlet Knights allowed Hoss to take a field position shot, which she converted.

Rutgers answered quickly after recovering a failed shot attempt from Ho and cleared the ball down the field. Within seconds of reaching Nittany Lions territory, the Scarlet Knights notched their first game of the match.

Tied 1-1, the Nittany Lions felt the pressure from Rutgers as Lily Dixon secured the following draw and passed to her teammate to take a shot on goal. Manning saved the shot and Penn State regained possession. After clearing the ball down to Rutgers territory, a foul on a Rutgers defender allowed Ho to take a free-position shot.

The shot went high, but Lauren Saltz recovered and took her shot on goal. Saltz’s shot was saved by Rutgers goalie Lexie Coldiron, who recovered the ball and sent it down the sidelines. After clearing the ball down the field, the Scarlet Knights worked the ball past Manning for their second goal of the night.

Coming out of a media timeout, the Nittany Lions looked energized and restructured. A foul on Cailin Hetrick allowed Rutgers to take a free-position attempt. Manning saved the shot, allowing Hetrick to pick up a ground ball, but she couldn’t clear the ball down the field. A green card and foul on Rutgers allowed Kelly MacKinney to secure a goal on a free-position shot while the Nittany Lions were a man up.

Riding on the high of scoring a goal, Ho secured the following draw and sent the ball to the Nittany Lion’s offense. MacKinney fed the ball to Saltz, who scored her 17th goal of the season.

The remaining five minutes of the quarter were a heated back and forth with a failed shot by Penn State’s Maggie Rezza closing out the first quarter.

Entering the second quarter, Ho secured the opening draw and immediately fed the ball to the Nittany Lions’ offense. A failed shot by Payton Wainman allowed Rutgers to pick up the ball and move into Nittany Lions territory. After 30 seconds of trying to get a shot off, Hilary Elsner scored off of a feed from Alexa Corbin.

The Nittany Lions answered quickly, with Saltz scoring yet another goal off of an assist from MacKinney.

The following draw was secured by Rutgers, but Ho forced a turnover with Emma Kelly recovering possession. After passing to Ho, Ho sent the ball into Elise Smiegel’s stick. Smiegel wasted no time taking a shot and securing her first goal for the match.

Following the goal, Kelly switched into center field to take the following draw. After securing the draw, Kelly charged toward the Scarlet Knights’ cage and took a shot on goal. The goal was saved by Coldiron, and Rutgers cleared the ball down the field. A foul on Penn State’s Kate Dougherty allowed Rutgers to take a free-position shot and score its fourth goal of the game.

With the score 5-4, the Nittany Lions were feeling the pressure. Seconds after taking the draw, Ho grabbed the ball and passed it to the Nittany Lions’ offense. Delaney Radin fed the ball to Saltz, who whipped the ball into the back of the cage.

The next seven minutes were a heated battle between the two teams, with both Coldiron and Manning making incredible saves. However, the stalemate ended when Saltz picked up and scored a goal off of Ho’s failed shot attempt, and the Nittany Lions entered halftime up 7-4.

Coming out of halftime, the Nittany Lions were off to a rough start. A foul on Maggie Golder allowed Rutgers to close the scoring gap with a free position attempt.

The Nittany Lions chose to send Saltz in to take the draw, but Rutgers forced a turnover immediately as Saltz secured the ball. A green card on Lilly Spilker gave Rutgers possession and the opportunity to clear the ball down the field. A yellow card on Rutgers gave Saltz the chance to score yet another goal, which she took advantage of.

Saltz secured the following draw, and Smiegel was forced into a turnover before Rutgers recovered. However, a shot clock violation on Rutgers allowed Penn State to regain possession. Ho capitalizeed and scored her 34th goal of the season.

Rutgers came out of a media timeout looking tired and unorganized as Penn State secured the next draw and scored within seconds.

This seemed to have awakened the Scarlet Knights, as they put immense pressure on Saltz on the following draw. Unable to stop Penn State from taking a shot, they recovered Saltz’s failed shot and carry the ball back into Nittany Lions territory for another goal.

Leading 10-6, the Nittany Lions worked to maintain possession as they forced Rutgers into a turnover after securing the draw. The next six minutes were a continuous back and forth, with Manning making a critical save off of a free position shot. Penn State ended the sequence as Ho scored off of a free-position attempt.

Rutgers received a green card and a foul, allowing Brooke Long to score another goal for the Nittany Lions off of a free-position attempt.

Entering the fourth quarter up 12-6, the Nittany Lions looked hungry to score but couldn’t get a shot off. The first five minutes of the final quarter were hard for both teams. With two fouls on Penn State and multiple turnovers from the Scarlet Knights, neither team found the back of the cage.

After a turnover from Ellie Hollin, Rutgers recovered possession, cleared the ball down the field, and scored.

Working with some momentum, the Scarlet Knights looked like they were getting their second wind. A green card on Ho allowed Rutgers to gain possession, but it was stripped by Spilker shortly after. A yellow card on Rutgers allowed Penn State to take a free-position shot, but the attempt was saved by Goldiron. Shortly after, Golder fouled a Rutgers offender, allowing them to score off a free-position attempt.

Immediately after, Rutgers secured the following draw and scored almost instantaneously as Penn State called a timeout.

The timeout seemed to work, as Spilker forced a turnover after Rutgers took the following draw. However, a foul on Hollin allowed Rutgers to score their 10th goal of the match, creating a two-point deficit.

In the final three minutes of the game, the Nittany Lions set the pace for the rest of the game by securing the final draw and making smart passes to wind down the clock. A turnover by Rutgers allowed Penn State to recover the ball and keep the ball in the opposing territory until the final whistle.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions looked like they’re finally able to find their groove after their losing streak. With Saltz and Ho both taking turns taking the draw, they can quickly send the ball down the field for quick goals.
• Saltz has cemented herself as an integral part of the team. In recent games, she’s shown to be a strong piece in assisting Ho and Hoss in goals, but on Thursday, she showed she can be a smart and quick decision-maker.
• Penn State has trouble with picking itself back up after the opposing team scores multiple goals back-to-back. While this is a tough thing to do, Penn State needs to take time after goals to restructure themselves and communicate how to slow down the opposing team’s offense.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will remain in Panzer Stadium to host Ohio State at noon on Sunday, April 6. The game will be broadcast on BTN+.