No 20. Penn State women’s lacrosse (10-3, 2-2 Big Ten) defeated No. 25 Ohio State (7-6, 2-4 Big Ten) 18-9 in an impressive bounce-back performance.

Penn State started the first quarter a little slow, but in no time, it picked up and jumped far ahead of Ohio State. Kelly MacKinney had an impressive seven goals today to lead Penn State’s offense in a statement game.

Draw controls were an issue for the Nittany Lions, along with time of possession. But Sydney Manning had a great day in goal with 12 saves, and the defense forced many turnovers to stop the Buckeyes.

How It Happened

Ohio State won the opening draw but shortly turned the ball over.

Sydney Manning started in goal despite being subbed out in the last game.

Penn State ran downfield and dished the ball to Anna Salerno, who scored through traffic with 13:50 left in the first quarter to put the Nittany Lions on the board.

Ohio State won the next draw and came back to score with 13:23 left in the first. A cut around X led to an easy shot for the Buckeyes.

Penn State lost a third straight draw, but a push sent the ball the Nittany Lions’ way. Payton Wainman found herself a small space in front of the crease for an easy turnaround shot and scored with 10:55 left in the quarter.

The Nittany Lions finally won a draw and had a free position shot opportunity. MacKinney sniped the ball in the top of the goal for her first of the game with 9:32 left in the first.

Penn State was off to a quick start offensively, something we saw at the beginning of the season but not in recent weeks. It appeared that Penn State found more rhythm coming into this game.

On Penn State’s next possession, Rocquette Allen drove around X for a diving goal with 8:48 left in the first. After her five-goal performance last week, she continued to showcase her skills against the Buckeyes.

The Nittany Lions went man up and took advantage of the opportunity. Erika Ho made a great split dodge through a double team for a low shot to score with 7:45 left in the quarter. Penn State went up 5-1.

Manning made a great save to prevent Ohio State from coming back, but a failed clear gave the Buckeyes another chance to score, which they took advantage of. They narrowed their deficit with 6:35 left in the first.

Penn State became man up again after an Ohio State shot hit a defender. A failed clear gave the Buckeyes the ball again, but the team still remained up a player.

Ohio State managed to score down a player with 3:53 left in the first. A quick catch and shoot for the Buckeyes made the game 5-3.

The Buckeyes caused another penalty and gave Penn State a man-up advantage on offense. However, the team’s shot was saved, giving Ohio State the ball again.

Manning had an incredible save, and on Penn State’s transition offense, they had a three-on-one situation for an easy goal. Delaney Radin scored her first of the game after a wide-open shot with 1:43 left in the first.

Shortly after, Ohio State went man up and drove to the goal for a bounce shot to score with 1:12 left in the quarter. The Buckeyes wasted no time coming back to maintain their two-goal deficit.

The quarter ended with Penn State leading 6-4. The team’s defense needed to contain the crease and prevent Ohio State from cutting into the slot.

Ohio State started the second quarter with possession and had a wide-open shot right in front of the goal, but Manning made another great save to give Penn State the ball.

Radin caught a contested ball, and in traffic with her back to the goal, she scored a backhanded shot with 13:28 left in the half. She became the first player for Penn State to have over one goal today.

A green card to Penn State gave the Buckeyes a man-up advantage. Ohio State scored on a free position shot with 11:56 left in the half. It continued to keep up with the Nittany Lions throughout the game.

Ohio State had another free position shot opportunity, but it was saved by Manning. She had four saves in the first half, in important moments for the Nittany Lions.

On a man-up offense, Ho scored her second goal of the game on an open slot shot. The Nittany Lions took a three-point lead with 6:42 left in the first.

Penn State forced a turnover to transition to offense. Wainman scored her second of the day from a quick catch-and-shoot goal with 4:59 left in the half.

Manning made two great saves after an Ohio State draw control win. Wainman was able to find herself open in front of the crease for a hat trick with 3:08 left in the half.

The Buckeyes were dominating the draw controls 13-3 and had more time of possession. However, Manning prevented many opportunities for Ohio State and was the anchor to the defense. The Buckeyes could have easily made the game closer, but many shots were denied.

Penn State went man up, and MacKinney scored her second of the day with 39 seconds in the half. However, Ohio State also went man up after the next draw and scored with 10 seconds left in the half to give the team a boost going into the third quarter.

The first half ended with Penn State leading 11-6. The offense took a huge jump from last week and appeared to be back in true form.

Manning was a huge reason for Penn State’s success in the first half. She looked motivated to prove herself after being taken out last week. Ohio State won 15-18 draw controls, but only had six goals due to Manning.

Ohio State won the opening draw of the second half, but it was mishandled, which quickly led to a goal scored by Allen after she dodged a defender with 14:29 left in the third.

The Buckeyes won another draw but turned the ball over. MacKinney scored her third goal after an amazing jump and behind-the-back shot with 12:48 left in the quarter.

Shortly after, MacKinney scored her fourth goal on a backwards-flipped shot with 11:32 left in the third. She scored back-to-back impressive goals in unique ways.

Despite Penn State dominating, draw controls were a huge issue. The Nittany Lions had three total in the game halfway through the third quarter. The defense has stepped up tremendously for Penn State.

Ohio State was finally able to score with 8:11 left in the third. A much-needed goal for the Buckeyes was easily scored in front of Manning.

Penn State went man up after a few back-and-forth possessions. MacKinney made a diving goal for her fifth of the day with 3:50 left in the quarter. She led the offense with the potential to continue to score for another quarter.

The third quarter ended 15-7 due to Penn State’s strong defensive performance. Manning had 10 saves, and the defense forced many turnovers, even with Ohio State’s control in time of possession.

Penn State started the fourth quarter with possession but turned the ball over. Ohio State had a free position opportunity but missed the shot. Penn State went man up shortly after.

Ho scored her third goal of the day with 8:44 left in the game. She showed her split-dogging skills once again to become the third Penn State player to get a hat trick.

Shortly after, MacKinney scored her sixth goal of the day after a nice drive to the middle with 8:05 left in the game. She had been tearing up Ohio State’s defense and made a statement in today’s game; she is a threat.

With 6:28 left in the game, MacKinney had another backhanded goal for her seventh; truly an impressive game for her today.

The Buckeyes scored in response with 4:47 left in the game to try to make the game closer. Exactly a minute later, they scored again to make their deficit less than 10.

There was no time for a comeback, and Penn State secured the 18-9 win.

Takeaways

• Draw controls were an issue for Penn State today, going 7-29 on the day. If it weren’t for the defense, the game could have been much closer.
• Manning had an impressive 12 saves. Last week, she was subbed out of the second half after a yellow card against Maryland. She was the backbone of the team today and was responsible for the Nittany Lions’ 18-goal win.
• MacKinney played an outstanding game with seven goals. She had shots scored in all types of ways to put Penn State on top.
• The Nittany Lions cut their losing streak with 18 total goals, coming back into true form.

What’s Next?

Penn State returns home to play Oregon at 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, at Panzer Stadium.