No. 21 Penn State women’s lacrosse (9-2, 1-1 Big Ten) fell to No. 6 Michigan (7-2, 2-0 Big Ten) 11-6.

The first half was rough for Penn State’s defense, which let up nine goals. Early penalties gave Michigan momentum and a huge lead.

The offense struggled to score throughout the game, with many missed and saved shots. The team also couldn’t take advantage of man-up situations on offense, leading to turnovers and goals for Michigan.

How It Happened

Penn State won the opening draw and had the first possession of the game. The team’s first shot was wide right, and Michigan marched downfield.

Sydney Manning started in goal and saved two shots, but Penn State couldn’t recover the ball. Michigan scored the first goal of the game with 13:18 left in the first quarter.

The Wolverines had a free position shot on their next possession and scored another goal with 12:23 left in the first. Michigan took an early 2-0 lead against the Nittany Lions.

Michigan drew a yellow card on the next draw, and Penn State was up a player. However, the Nittany Lions had a pass thrown out of bounds, giving the Wolverines the ball again.

With two free position shot opportunities, Michigan was successful on one of them and scored with 10:19 left in the quarter.

Penn State was off to a slow start, giving up three goals within the first five minutes. Early penalties on defense were a big contributing factor to the Wolverines’ early lead.

Michigan won another draw but had a shot saved by Manning. In the final seconds of the shot clock, Payton Wainman scored the first goal of the game for the Nittany Lions with 7:47 left in the quarter.

Penn State was in need of putting a goal on the board and delivered. A timeout also gave the team a chance to recenter in hopes of making the score even.

Penn State won the next draw in a hard-fought battle from Emma Kelly. Michigan also picked up a two-minute penalty, giving Penn State a huge opportunity to take advantage of an extra offensive player.

Kelley MacKinney scored her first of the game with 7:04 left in the first. Penn State remained a man up after the goal and automatically had possession on the next drive.

With a free position shot opportunity, the Nittany Lions couldn’t score, and Michigan maintained possession again. However, a quick turnover gave Penn State the ball again.

The next shot taken was saved by Michigan. The Wolverines looked to extend their lead once again, but the Nittany Lions denied the chance.

Penn State’s Delaney Radin had a shot on goal that was almost saved by Michigan and looked to be behind the line, but it was called a no-goal on a challenge. Questionable call by the refs, but the game went on.

Michigan had a free position shot opportunity and scored with 1:05 left in the quarter. The quarter ended with Michigan leading 4-2.

Penn State started the second quarter with the ball, along with another man-up opportunity.

Penn State had a dropped pass to open the second quarter and gave Michigan the ball. The Wolverines scored the first goal of the quarter with 13:36 left in the half.

Michigan caused another two-minute penalty on the next draw. Penn State had a huge opportunity to come back as the penalty is unreleasable, but the team quickly turned the ball over.

Penn State managed to get the ball back; however, two missed shots sent the ball the other way yet again. Michigan scored with 9:30 remaining in the half, giving the team its biggest lead of the game.

A penalty caused by Penn State on the next draw allowed Michigan to score another goal with 8:53 left in the half.

The Nittany Lions needed to find rhythm on offense and get shots on goal. The team had a few man-up opportunities but couldn’t capitalize on them. Finding the middle of the field was a struggle due to Michigan’s strong crease pressure.

Penn State won the next draw but yet again had a pass go out of bounds. Michigan scored another goal on its next drive to go up six with 6:43 left in the half.

With another draw control for Michigan, the team scored with 5:21 left in the half. The Wolverines were shutting Penn State’s defense down, pushing their way to the crease for easy shots.

However, MacKinney responded with a much-needed goal with 4:10 left in the half. Penn State was looking for a goal all quarter and finally put another point on the board.

A penalty from Michigan gave Penn State the ball on the next drive. Kelly scored her first goal of the game with 3:00 left in the half.

The Nittany Lions finally found momentum late into the first half and narrowed Michigan’s lead.

A false start from Michigan on the next draw gave Penn State the ball. The team was again up a player and looked to take advantage of the opportunity. However, a charge from Penn State allowed Michigan to gain possession.

Michigan ran out of time to score, and the Nittany Lions once again had the ball. The team couldn’t score, and the half ended with the Wolverines leading 9-4.

Michigan won the first draw of the second half but immediately called a timeout 14 seconds into the quarter.

Penn State drew an offside call, giving Michigan an extra player. Both teams caused a few turnovers on multiple possessions. The third quarter started slowly, and neither team scored with less than eight minutes remaining.

Penn State’s defense stepped up and intercepted multiple passes from Michigan. The offense began finding good shot opportunities but struggled to put them on goal.

Michigan was finally able to end the scoring drought in the second half with 2:53 left in the third. Penn State’s defense was playing strongly with great pressure, but eventually slipped up. Manning had a few good saves to start the second half as well. She remained in control and confident after a big first-half deficit.

The third quarter ended 10-4 with zero goals scored by Penn State. The team went back to an offensive slump with many shots saved or off target.

Penn State started the fourth quarter with possession and had a free position shot opportunity, but missed. Michigan took control and looked to continue to extend its lead.

The Wolverines had a free position shot opportunity, but Manning saved it. Penn State had still not scored a goal in the second half, but also had a free position shot opportunity.

Radin was not able to score, and Michigan had possession again. The Wolverines scored with 8:07 left in the half, and Penn State called a timeout.

It had been 22 minutes into the second half, and Penn State still had not scored a goal.

Michigan won the next draw but had a shot saved by Manning. The team marched downfield and scored a goal with 6:31 left in the game. Hannah Hoyt stepped up and scored her first goal of the game.

Penn State turned the ball over on its next possession. With four minutes remaining and down by six goals, the Nittany Lions desperately needed a comeback.

After a forced turnover, Wainman scored her second goal of the day with 2:49 left in the game. Penn State had a boost toward the end of the game, trying to get back in it.

The next possession for Penn State resulted in a saved shot by Michigan. The Wolverines looked to kill time on the clock to secure a win.

The game ended as an 11-6 loss.

Takeaways

• Penn State struggled to capitalize on man-up opportunities on offense. Many shots taken were off target and uncontrolled.
• The Nittany Lions struggled to score in the second half. It took them over 23 minutes to get a goal after a big deficit in the first half.
• The defense in the first half struggled to cover the middle of the field and put pressure on players. Michigan found easy ways to slide past players and score. Penn State looked unfocused but stepped up big in the second half, only allowing two goals.
• Penn State needed to find a way to take advantage of the penalties Michigan was causing. The team dropped many passes and couldn’t find its way to the crease. Penn State didn’t look like it was getting too outperformed; it just needed to execute offensively and will look to improve there for the rest of the season.

What’s Next?

Penn State travels to College Park to take on Maryland at noon on Sunday, March 29. The game will be played at SECU Stadium and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.