No. 20 Penn State field hockey (5-4, 0-1 Big Ten) lost to Syracuse (8-2, 1-2 ACC) on the road Sunday, 3-2.

Despite controlling large stretches of the game and holding a lead in the final two minutes, Penn State’s energy didn’t carry through 60 minutes, allowing this one to slip away.

How It Happened

Syracuse earned back-to-back penalty corners in the opening eight minutes and put several shots on net, but Aby Deverka turned them aside.

Penn State started to settle in and found the back of the net midway through the quarter. Morgan McMenamin scored at 19:21 to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 edge. Several times, the defense handled a few more Orange attacks to take the lead into halftime.

Syracuse generated multiple penalty corners to start the second half, including a shot that was saved by Anouk Knuvers to keep the game 1-0.

Syracuse equalized the game at 38:38 on a Hatie Madden goal of a Bo van Kempen assist, only for Joji Purdy to respond for Penn State six minutes later to make it 2-1.

In the closing two minutes, Syracuse capitalized on a slew of corners. Van Kempen tied it at 2-2 at 58:37, and Lana Hamilton buried the go-ahead goal just 20 seconds later off a Pati Stunk setup to hand Penn State a late heartbreaking 3-2 loss.

Takeaways

• Penn State held Syracuse scoreless through three quarters and even built a 2-1 lead in the fourth. But the inability to close in the final minutes erased what the Nittany Lions did in the first 45 minutes.
• Deverka was excellent for 58 minutes, turning away repeated corners and shots. However, Syracuse’s late push ultimately cracked the defense.
• Syracuse piled up corners and shots, especially in the second half, while Penn State struggled to convert on its own chances.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will head to Ann Arbor for a Big Ten showdown against No. 6 Michigan at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 3. The game will be available on BTN+.