No. 19 Penn State women’s lacrosse (12-6, 4-5 Big Ten) lost to No. 7 Michigan (12-5, 6-3 Big Ten) 13-12 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon.

An exciting back-and-forth game saw the Nittany Lions take an early lead, but a push in the second half gave Michigan a lead that it wouldn’t give up, as the Wolverines eliminated Penn State from the Big Ten Tournament.

How It Happened

Emma Burke won the opening draw for Michigan. Sydney Manning made the first save of the game for the Nittany Lions off a shot by Emma Bradbury. A strong offensive push by the Nittany Lions led to a goal scored by Anna Salerno, giving Penn State an early lead.

Michigan tied the game just a couple of minutes later with Bradbury scoring a goal. Calli Norris gave the Wolverines a lead with another goal shortly after.

A strong offensive possession for Penn State was capped with an equalizing goal scored by Kelly MacKinny. Norris responded for Michigan with her second goal of the game.

As the first quarter neared its close, Rocquette Allen scored the Nittany Lions’ third goal to tie the game, making it 3-3 after one.

A green card called on Michigan’s Taylor Cullen kicked off the second quarter and gave Penn State possession. Allen made the most of the opportunity, burying one in the back of the Wolverines net, giving the Nittany Lions the lead.

Michigan gained possession after the ensuing draw, leading to Norris securing a hat trick to make it 4-4.

The back-and-forth play continued with Manning making a save on a free-position shot on one end, and Maddie Greco scoring on the other end off an assist by Delaney Radin to give Penn State the lead yet again.

Bradbury made sure the lead didn’t last long, scoring her second to tie the game at five goals apiece.

The score remained 5-5 going into halftime as no team could muster many great scoring chances, with plenty of turnovers for both sides.

The second half began with an early Michigan turnover, leading to a goal by Erika Ho.

The Wolverines responded nicely, controlling possession and scoring three unanswered goals in just over two minutes to make it 8-6 for the first two-goal lead by either team of the game. Norris, Ava Class, and Bradbury scored the goals.

Elizabeth Johnson made two great saves for Michigan to help keep the Wolverines’ lead. However, it was eventually halved late in the third quarter after a goal scored by Ho.

Norris extended the Michigan lead back to two with a goal just 16 seconds into the final quarter. Just 33 seconds later, Ceci Stein made it 10-7 with another goal. Class then scored shortly after for the last of a three-goal Wolverine run.

Penn State went on a run of its own, scoring three goals in under two minutes to cut the deficit to one. Allen and Emma Kelly were the goal scorers, with Kelly scoring two straight with just 50 seconds in between.

The teams would continue to trade blows, with goals from Bradbury, Ho, Katharine Merrifield, and Allen, making it 13-12 late in the fourth.

A robbery from Manning on Bradbury kept the Nittany Lions within striking distance with just over two minutes left to play.

As Penn State geared up for one final push, Jordyn Harrison caused a turnover to give Michigan possession, which they wouldn’t let up to seal the Wolverine victory with a 13-12 final score.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions had no answer for Calli Norris as Michigan’s captain scored five goals in the victory.
• Rocquette Allen was Penn State’s most productive player, scoring four goals in the loss.
• The game was about as even as it gets, with Michigan just edging out Penn State in shots on goal, 22-19, but while having two more turnovers than the Nittany Lions.

What’s Next?

With the loss, the Nittany Lions are eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament. They will await the Selection Show on Sunday, May 3, to see whether they receive an at-large bid to compete in the NCAA Tournament. The first round of the Tournament begins on Friday, May 8, and the Selection Show will be broadcast on ESPNU.