No. 5 Princeton's Season Ends in 14-12 Battle at Penn State

Sunday, May 21

University Park, PA

1:00 PM

Princeton University

15-4

Penn State

17-3

Team	1	2	Final F
Princeton	5	7	12
Penn State	6	8	14

Photo by: Princeton Athletic Communications

No. 5 Princeton's Season Ends in 14-12 Battle at Penn State

May 21, 2017 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

A back-and-forth battle between No. 4 Princeton and No. 6 Penn State in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament, ended in a 14-12 win for the home team Nittany Lions.

It was a game that featured nine ties and seven lead changes and was decided in the final minutes.

Princeton had a one-goal lead, 12-11, with less than six minutes to play. After Maria Auth tied it at 5:20, the Tigers were forced into a tough spot as they were assessed a yellow card and converted on the ensuing man-up free-position goal at 3:42. Katie O'Donnell pushed it to the first two-goal lead since 16:51 of the first half with the final strike at 1:41.

Princeton has two offensive opportunities in the final 1:41 as junior Elizabeth George deked and dodged but Cat Rainoine made the top on the ground. A hail mary pass found its way into the stick of Tewaaraton finalist Olivia Hompe but she was denied by Rainone on the doorstep with nine seconds left.

Senior goalie Ellie DeGarmo made 16 saves, including a number on free-position attempts as Penn State was awarded seven more than Princeton.

Hompe scored three goals while George and junior Ellie McNulty scored twice. Junior Colby Chanenchuk, sophomore Kathryn Hallett and Tess D'Orsi each scored a goal and an assist.

Princeton's defense forced Penn State into eight turnovers, and Madeline Rodriguez won four draws. The defensive effort of sophomore Nonie Andersen, who face guarded first-team All-America Steph Lazo was solid. Lazo did not have a single point.

Maria Auth, who made her first start of the season for Penn State, scored four goals and one assist, while Madison Carter and Katie O'Donnell tallied three goals apiece.

Penn State took a 2-0 lead as Carter used a split dodge and went low for the first tally followed by a goal by Auth after her defender took a tumble. Auth scored three of the first four goals for her team, and drew four free-position attempts, converting on two of them.

The Tigers answered with two straight as Chanenchuk fed D'Orsi and followed by Hompe burying a free-position attempt to knot it at 2-2 at 23:53.

DeGarmo went to work on Auth, denying her two consecutive free-position shots, before Auth converted on her third and fourth attempts – aiming upper 90 on both as she gave her team a 4-2 lead at 16:51.

Junior Camille Sullivan factored into two big caused turnovers for Princeton. After a Penn State clear, Alex Argo forced a turnover and Sullivan got the ground ball to take it the other way. Sullivan had another nice effort as she stripped the ball again at the top of the fan two possessions later.

Princeton scored two goals in three minutes to make it a 4-4 game. Hallett got revenge on being caused for a crease violation on the previous possession as the Tigers forced a turnover on the ride and Chanenchuk fed Hallett at 14:18. D'Orsi tallied her 38th of the season at 11:43 with an unassisted marker.

Taylor Bleinstein shot low off a Penn State draw control to regain the lead for PSU, 5-4, at 11:31. The next two possessions the Nittany Lions got shut down by DeGarmo as she got her stick on a Carter shot from the left side and then denied Abby Smucker on an eight meter.

Junior Ellie McNulty brought the teams back to even at 2:11 when an unassisted mark, her 22nd of the season.

A Gallagher goal from Smucker with 1:12 remaining gave PSU the 6-5 lead at halftime.

Princeton came out of the second half and scored two straight to take a 7-6 lead. George found a sliver of space for an unassisted goal before Allie Rogers gave the Tigers their first lead of the game at 28:42.

Carter converted on a free-position attempt less than a minute later to knot it at 7-7. O'Donnell scored as she drove across the fan and rifled one in as PSU retook the lead, 8-7.

Hompe had a goal waved off and was then assessed a yellow card for dangerous follow through. The Tigers came up strong, forcing a turnover and then converting on the other end as McNulty net a man-down goal at 23:32 to even it at 8-8. Hompe's next goal did count, as she tucked in a free-position attempt to put Princeton back on top 9-8 at 22:22.

Two goals in 41 seconds, following back-to-back stops by DeGarmo pushed PSU ahead 10-9 as O'Donnell and Carter both scored.

Hompe did work on both ends, as she caused a turnover behind the goal and fired in another free-position seconds later for her third of the game. George followed up with a rocket of a shot two minutes later as Princeton gained an 11-10 edge.

After Smucker converted on an eight-meter attempt from the center hash at 14:52 to knot it at 11-11 both goalies were put on display as neither team could score in the next nine minutes.

Senior Anna Doherty got on the scoreboard when she put away a pass from Hallett as Princeton went on top 12-11 with 5:56 remaining.

A yellow card on Princeton, forcing the Tigers to play man down, and three goals by Penn State in the final 5:20 proved to be the difference makers.

Princeton finishes the 2017 season with a 15-4 overall record, an Ivy League title, an Ivy League Tournament championship and its 25th NCAA tournament appearance, reaching the quarterfinals as the No. 5 seed.

No 4 seeded Penn State, now 17-3, advances to the semifinal, where it will face Maryland.