No. 21 Penn State women’s lacrosse (11-5, 3-4 Big Ten) fell to No. 7 Johns Hopkins (13-3, 6-2 Big Ten) 10-9 in overtime on Thursday night.

Penn State’s defense held the Blue Jays under 10 goals and was consistent on clear attempts. Sydney Manning played another key role for the team and was strong against free position shots.

The offense looked in control and found its rhythm early in the game. Penn State didn’t trail until Johns Hopkins’ final shot, where it ran away with the overtime win.

How It Happened

Penn State won the opening draw and passed the ball smoothly. Johns Hopkins forced a turnover to get possession. The first few minutes remained scoreless after strong defense from both teams.

Johns Hopkins drew the first foul, which allowed Penn State to go man-up. Payton Wainman cut to the middle of the field for an easy shot to score the first goal of the game. The Nittany Lions took their first lead with 8:59 left in the first quarter.

On Penn State’s next possession, the team went man-up again after a yellow card on Johns Hopkins. It had a great shot opportunity, but the attempt was saved. Despite the turnover, the Nittany Lions were in control of possession in the first quarter.

Johns Hopkins scored after two missed shots on Penn State’s next drive. The Blue Jays tied the game with 4:13 remaining in the first after a quick drive to the crease.

Hopkins was issued a green card on the next draw to give the Nittany Lions their third man-up opportunity. Shortly after, the Blue Jays were issued a yellow card, which gave Penn State a free position shot. The Nittany Lions missed and had a green card issued.

Johns Hopkins had a free position shot saved by Sydney Manning to allow Penn State to go back on offense. Wainman scored her second goal of the game with 1:25 left in the quarter. She caught a contested ball and drove to the goal to put Penn State back in the lead.

After the game was delayed for a little bit, Penn State won the next draw. Johns Hopkins drew another penalty, which gave the Nittany Lions possession and a two-man up advantage. A dropped pass turned the ball over, and the quarter ended.

Penn State led 2-1 over the Blue Jays. The defense protected the crease well and was perfect on all clear attempts. The offense had control of the ball but needed to execute more shot opportunities.

Johns Hopkins started the second quarter with possession, but quickly turned the ball over. However, the Blue Jays got the ball back after a charge from Penn State. Johns Hopkins had a second free position shot opportunity and scored on a strong distance shot. The game was tied with 11:25 left in the half.

The Nittany Lions won the next draw and had a goal called back with a dangerous follow-through penalty. The Blue Jays went man-up, but had a free position shot saved by Manning. Maggie Rezza scored her first goal after a strong cut in the slot. The Nittany Lions regained the lead with 8:17 left in the half.

Johns Hopkins quickly responded and scored with 7:37 left in the half. A bit of misdirection on defense allowed the Blue Jays to rip the ball into the top of the net.

Penn State wasted no time bouncing back. Anna Salerno made a great dodge around a defender to bounce the ball for a goal with 7:17 remaining in the half. Shortly after, Rezza scored her second goal of the game with 6:33 left in the half. She caught a contested ball in front of the crease and had an easy shot opportunity.

On the next drive, Johns Hopkins went man-up and had a free position shot. The Blue Jays scored with 5:42 remaining, doing their best to keep the game close. They had another free position shot shortly after, but hit the post.

The Blue Jays called a timeout with 43 seconds left in the first half.

The first half ended with Penn State leading 5-4 over the Blue Jays. The defense applied consistent pressure on Johns Hopkins, but penalties were an issue. Half of the Blue Jays’ goals were from free position shots, and the team also had a few extra opportunities, but missed them.

The offense played on par with Johns Hopkins, and seemed in control, but could’ve had 2-3 extra goals from open shots. Statistically, the teams were very even. Both had 14 shots, nine shots on goal, five draw control wins, and eight turnovers. The Nittany Lions just needed to jump ahead a little bit in the second half to win.

Penn State won the first draw control of the second half. The team dropped a pass, which led to Hopkins getting possession. But the Blue Jays drew a foul, which gave Penn State the ball back.

After a few back-and-forth possessions, Johns Hopkins scored to tie the game with 11:37 left in the third quarter. An open lane to the middle gave the Blue Jays an easy chance to come back.

The next few drives for both teams resulted in turnovers. Penn State struggled to hold onto the ball and get strong shot opportunities. The Blue Jays produced solid stick checks against the Nittany Lions, but the defense remained composed.

Kelly MacKinney scored her first goal of the game with 5:24 left in the third. She found the top of the net after an open shot on the outside of the field. Penn State took another lead over the Blue Jays, going up 6-5.

Manning had a great save on Hopkins’ next drive, which became her seventh of the game. She was crucial on a few free position shots and other open shots the Blue Jays had to keep Penn State in the game.

With the shot clock under 10 seconds, Erika Ho found herself open from a distance and sniped the ball in the back of the net with 1:30 left in the third.

Shortly after, Johns Hopkins responded with 50 seconds left in the quarter. A strong drive to the crease made it a one-score game again.

On the next draw, Johns Hopkins drew a yellow card, which gave Penn State a huge opportunity on offense, as the penalty was unreleasable. Penn State held onto the ball to end the third quarter.

Penn State led the Blue Jays 7-6, and were still man-up to start the fourth quarter.

The Nittany Lions turned the ball over to start the quarter. Johns Hopkins stormed downfield and scored a behind-the-back goal with 13:03 left in the game. The game was tied once more.

Penn State won the next draw, and Johns Hopkins drew a green card. Penn State was later given a free position shot opportunity and scored. Delaney Radin scored her first goal with 12:07 left in the game to give Penn State the lead.

Johns Hopkins was issued a yellow card for a dangerous follow-through shot, which allowed it to go man up again. Penn State couldn’t find a good shot opportunity and turned the ball over, but a strong stick check gave the team the ball again.

MacKinney scored her second goal of the game with 5:28 left in the contest. She found an open look for a close-range shot to put Penn State up two.

On the next draw, Penn State was issued a green card, and Johns Hopkins later had a free position shot opportunity. The attempt was saved by Manning, and the Nittany Lions called a timeout with a little under four minutes remaining.

Johns Hopkins won a free position shot late into the game and scored with 59 seconds remaining, making it a one-point difference. The Blue Jays won the next draw and tied the game with 26 seconds remaining.

Penn State drew a yellow card that was unreleasable with under 20 seconds left, but Johns Hopkins couldn’t move quickly enough. The game went into overtime.

Penn State won the overtime draw, and Johns Hopkins was issued a green card. Penn State was issued a yellow card and went man down. Johns Hopkins was able to find an open shot and scored to win the game.

Takeaways

• The defense played strongly, holding the Blue Jays to under 10 goals until overtime. It was 23-24 on clear attempts and forced 12 turnovers on the day.
• Maggie Rezza had a solid first half, scoring two goals, which doubled the amount she had all season.
• Sydney Manning had nine saves and once again was a key part of the defense.
• A last-minute comeback for Johns Hopkins led to a heartbreaking finish. Penn State gave up its first lead on the last shot. However, the Nittany Lions still held their own against a top-10 team.

What’s Next?

Penn State travels to Piscataway, New Jersey, to play No. 22 Rutgers at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, at SHI Stadium. Folks can follow along on BTN+.