No. 21 Penn State women’s lacrosse (11-4, 3-3 Big Ten) fell to No. 4 Northwestern (11-3, 5-1 Big Ten) 17-12 after a sloppy second-half performance.

The team maintained a lead in the first quarter and halfway through the second, but lost it late in the first half. Northwestern came out hot in the second half, taking a six-point lead over Penn State, which couldn’t give the team enough juice to come back.

How It Happened

Northwestern won the opening draw but was turned over within five seconds. Penn State’s first shot was saved, which gave the Wildcats the ball again.

A shot clock violation gave Penn State the ball, which led to a goal scored by Roquette Allen with 12:32 left in the first quarter. Allen dodged a defender for an underhanded bounce shot to get the first goal of the game.

On Penn State’s next possession, Erika Ho caught a ball through traffic and scored after the ball bounced off Northwesten’s goalie Jenika Cuocco’s stick. The Nittany Lions took a 2-0 lead with 11:33 left in the first.

The Wildcats were 3-0 on draw controls to start the game, but Sydney Manning recorded two saves early in the game. Penn State’s defense had great pressure early in the first.

Northwestern eventually had a free position shot and scored with 7:15 left in the quarter. A yellow card for Penn State automatically gave Northwestern the ball on the next possession.

After a second free position opportunity, the Wildcats tied the game with 6:06 left in the first.

After a forced turnover on Northwestern’s next drive, Penn State scored to regain the lead. Kelly MacKinney had her first of the game with an underhand shot while backpedalling. Penn State went up 3-2 with 4:54 left in the quarter.

The Wildcats responded a few minutes later after a cut to the middle to score with 1:05 left in the first. While Penn State was keeping up wth Northwestern, the Wildcats were determined to take advantage of the game.

The first quarter ended 3-3. The Nittany Lions looked strong offensively, scoring on eight shots compared to Northwestern’s three. Time of possession was a struggle due to a disadvantage with draw controls, but the team was clearing the ball well and had a strong transition offense.

Penn State started the second quarter with the ball and was up two players. But the team couldn’t get a shot off before the green cards were released. A dropped pass eventually gave Northwestern the ball.

A save by Manning and a yellow card on the Wildcats gave Penn State a second man-up opportunity on offense. Ho had a free position shot but missed it high, but she managed to score the next time she got the ball with 10:18 left in the half. After spinning around a defender, she had her second chance to get her second of the day and capitalized.

But, less than 30 seconds later, Northwestern found an open lane to the goal and scored with 10:00 left in the half. A great opportunity to maintain a lead for Penn State was shortly taken away.

After a missed free-throw shot by the Wildcats, the Nittany Lions took over on offense. Anna Salerno cut around X for a shot, which hit the post, but bounced off Cuocco to score with 8:13 left in the game.

Penn State went man down the next possession, which gave the Wildcats an easy opportunity for a shot in front of the crease. Northwestern tied the game with 6:39 left in the half.

Penn State’s offense started to look sloppy. The team was dropping passes and throwing the ball into traffic. Northwestern had control of the ball late in the second quarter, but the defense held its ground. Clears were also becoming an issue as the Wildcats applied heavier pressure, which stalled Penn State.

Northwestern took its first lead with another open shot in front of the goal. The team went up 6-5 with 2:01 left in the half.

Penn State had a dropped pass on its next possession, which led Northwestern to score after a quick transition offense with seven seconds left in the half.

The first half ended with Penn State trailing 7-5. The team was getting good shot opportunities but was 11-2 on draw controls. Manning also had nine saves in the first half alone, keeping the game close. Penn State’s defense also had to get around pressure on clears to make up for the time of possession since the team struggled with draw controls.

Penn State won the opening draw of the third quarter, but a shot clock violation gave the Wildcats the ball. Northwestern scored the first goal of the second half with 12:31 left in the third. Penn State was also issued a yellow card, automatically giving Northwestern the ball on the next possession.

With a man-up opportunity, the Wildcats had another goal with 11:56 left in the quarter.

After going man-up, Penn State had a free position shot but just missed. Northwestern regained possession to score its third goal of the quarter. The Wildcats took a 10-5 lead with 7:35 left in the quarter. Less than a minute later, Northwestern scored another goal to take a six-point lead.

After around a 17-minute scoring drought, Payton Wainman subtly scored her first of the day with 5:58 left in the third, a much-needed boost for the Nittany Lions after being down six goals.

A couple of minutes later, the Wildcats got another goal to maintain a six-point lead. However, Emma Kelly scored her first of the game unassisted to narrow the team’s deficit. But the Wildcats bounced back yet again.

The third quarter ended 13-7 with a slower defensive performance for the Nittany Lions.

MacKinney scored her second of the day to open the fourth quarter with 14:33 left in the game. Penn State went off to a quick start after sloppy play in the second half. Northwestern responded a couple of minutes later to maintain a stronger lead. With 10:22, Northwestern scored another to go up 15-8.

Around two minutes later, the Wildcats took control with another goal, up eight over the Nittany Lions.

But Delaney Radin scored her first of the day off a free position shot with 5:50 left in the game. MacKinney scored her third of the game with 4:12 remaining, becoming the first player with a hat trick for Penn State.

Shortly after, Radin scored her second of the game and the quarter to put Penn State in a five-point deficit. The team had a small momentum boost toward the end of the game. With 2:07 left in the game, Radin scored her third of the game. She really stepped up for the Nittany Lions late into the game.

Penn State looked like it had a chance to come back in the final two minutes, but the team didn’t have enough. The game ended 17-12 after a hard-fought battle.

Takeaways

• The first half looked great for the Nittany Lions, but a scoring drought from the second quarter going into the third caused the team to lose momentum and fall behind.
• Penn State struggled with draw controls, going 21-9. Time of possession went in Northwestern’s favor, allowing the team to have 42 shot attempts.
• Despite the Wildcats having a high-scoring day, Manning had an impressive 12 saves, which kept the team alive in the first half.

What’s Next?

Penn State takes on Johns Hopkins at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, at Panzer Stadium.