No. 14 Women’s Lacrosse Edged By No. 25 Penn State, 16-14
Separation was hard to come by at Sherrerd Field as No. 14 Princeton and No. 25 Penn State went back and forth in a thrilling game which saw Penn State rally in the second half for a 16-14 win.
Through the first three quarters, neither team led by more than three – and advantage Princeton earned with a quick three-goal run to close out the second quarter – and 45 minutes had decided nothing as the teams played to a 13-13 tie through three periods of play.
4:46 (2nd) Spinderella, Kick It Up One Time!
Grace Tauckus goes 360 degrees for an all-world goal!@NCAALAX | @ILWomen | @USALacrosseMag #sctop10 pic.twitter.com/hp4NzEwRGt
— Princeton Women’s Lax (@princetonwlax) March 18, 2023
That third quarter saw the Nittany Lions outscore the Tigers, 6-3, pulling even and entering the fourth with momentum. That energy carried over with a goal 2:39 in to take a 14-13 lead. The Tigers pulled even moments later, but Kari Buonanno’s goal with 10:56 left was the last of the day for Princeton.
Penn State scored twice in a span of 1:34 – both goals from Gretchen Gilmore – to take a 16-14 lead and hold on over the final 3:57.
Kari Buonanno had four goals and an assist for the Tigers, Jami MacDonald had two goals and three assists. Kate Mulham had a four-point day with two goals and two assists. All total, eight different Tigers had at least one goal.
10:56 (4th) Tie Game!
Blake finds Buonanno open in the middle of the arc and we are level, 14-14. pic.twitter.com/Y1y9zrDV7k
— Princeton Women’s Lax (@princetonwlax) March 18, 2023
Gilmore had six goals for the Nittany Lions, while Kristin O’Neill had six goals and an assist.
Princeton had a 20-14 edge on draw controls, eight from Ellie Mueller. Amelia Hughes made 12 saves to six from Penn State’s Ashley Bowan.
The Tigers struck twice in the first 1:12 to take a 2-0 lead, scoring twice in a span of 17 seconds. Samantha DeVito opened the scoring, gathering a McKenzie Blake pass and whipping it home.
Kari Buonanno followed in short order, patiently taking a free position to the cage and waiting out the goalie before depositing the ball for a 2-0 lead.
That quick run for the Tigers kicked off a back-and-forth opening 15:00. The Nittany Lions countered with the game’s next two goals to tie the game, 2-2, 3:58 into the game.
Ellie Mueller and Jami MacDonald then had an answer for Princeton, regaining a two-goal lead.
Mueller scored with 11:03 left in the first quarter, working free to take a Kate Mulham pass and score.
MacDonald then struck midway through the quarter to give Princeton a 4-2 lead. She slipped free to the right of the cage, and Mulham dished out another assist with a well-placed pass that allowed MacDonald to charge towards goal and score.
Penn State dialed up another rally, drawing the game even with a Gretchen Gilmore goal with 5:23 left in the quarter.
Kate Mulham then scored a quick-stick goal 1:18 later off a MacDonald pass to give the Tigers a 5-4 lead after one period.
The teams continued to trade goals for the first portion of the second quarter, Penn State answering each Princeton goal and leveling the game at 7-7 with 7:04 to go in the first half.
8:55 (2nd) Whiteway From Far Away!
Sophie sends one low from just inside the arc and we lead, 7-6! pic.twitter.com/ZwfA9YsH8o
— Princeton Women’s Lax (@princetonwlax) March 18, 2023
That Kristin O’Neill goal was the last one Penn State scored in the opening half as the Tigers clamped down on defense and scored the next three goals to take. 10-7 lead into the break.
Grace Tauckus had two of those goals, starting with a highlight reel spin-o-rama with 4:46 left in the period. She followed 0:57 later with a more traditional dodge to goal for a 9-7 lead.
Jami MacDonald would close out the scoring with a nifty solo effort from behind the cage with 3:15 remaining on the second quarter.
Penn State took control of the third quarter, scoring three goals in the first 2:26 of the period to tie the game at 10-10.
After a Kari Buonanno goal 3:28 into the third quarter gave the Tigers an 11-10 lead, Penn State rattled off the next two, a Brooke Hoss goal with 6:21 left in the period giving Penn State its first lead of the game at 12-11.
McKenzie Blake took a Kari Buonanno pass while cutting from behind the cage and whipped home a lefty side-winder 1:10 later to tie the game again at 12-12, but the Nittany Lions had an answer in the form of a Kristin O’Neill goal with 3:53 left in the third.
