PRINCETON, N.J.- No. 25 Penn State women's lacrosse upset No. 14 Princeton 16-14 in a shootout at Sherrerd Field in Princeton, N.J. The Nittany Lions move to 7-2, 1-0 Big Ten and the Tigers fall to 3-3, 0-1 Ivy League. In a game of 10 tie scores and a three-goal deficit at halftime, Penn State came out victorious against Princeton.
Kristin O'Neill and Gretchen Gilmore contributed six goals apiece to Penn State's second Top-25 win in the last week. Sammy Dupcak was a force on defense causing four turnovers, picking up three ground balls and winning two draw controls.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Princeton got off to an early start, taking a 2-0 lead with two goals just over a minute into the game.
O'Neill responded with two back-to-back, unassisted goals of her own in less than 30 seconds to tie the score at 2-2.
The Tigers got off to another two-goal advantage with 7:37 left on the clock.
Kristin O'Neill found the back of the cage to seal her hat trick with 6:24 to play in the first quarter. She not only contributed goals to the team's total but added an assist to Gilmore's first goal of the game that tied the score at 4-4.
Princeton put one more on the board after a three and a half minute scoring drought to make the first quarter score 5-4, with Princeton ahead.
Second Quarter
Brooke Hoss found the back of the net first in the second quarter off an assist from Kara Nealon to tie the score once again, this time at 5-5.
Princeton would not give up its lead, going up by one yet again. Ashley Bowan made two crucial saves, one off a free position shot, to keep the margin close and give the Nittany Lions an opportunity to knot the score again.
Gilmore was responsible for another tie at 6-6 off an assist from Brooke Barger with 9:08 to play in the first half.
Princeton continued to hold onto the lead, responding immediately once again after Penn State tied the score. The total moved to 7-6 with just under nine remaining.
The story continued with another tie score off a free position goal from O'Neill with her fourth of the day.
Princeton pulled ahead 10-7 with three unanswered goals to conclude the first half, marking the biggest lead of the game for either team.
Third Quarter
The Nittany Lions came out of halftime on a 3-0 run with two goals from Gretchen Gilmore to seal her hat trick and another from O'Neill to tie the score at 10-10. However, the Tigers, scoring with 11:32 on the clock, took the lead back at 11-10.
Penn State continued its relentless offense to knot the score at 11-11, Hoss responsible for this tie with her second goal of the day.
After four scoreless minutes, Hoss gave the Nittany Lions their first lead of the game on a free position goal to make the score 12-11, with Penn State in the lead. Princeton broke a six-minute goal drought to match the Penn State total at 12 with just over five minutes to play in the third quarter.
Junior captain, O'Neill scored her sixth of the day to mark a 13-12 Penn State edge but, Princeton knotted it one last time at 13-13 before the last whistle of the third period.
Fourth Quarter
Meghan Murray got in on the action with her first goal of the day to add one to the board first for the Nittany Lions in the final stanza, but Princeton once again came back with a score of its own to circle back to an even 14-14 score.
Gilmore scored two back-to-back goals for Penn State to give it its biggest lead of the day at 16-14 with 3:57 to play, which is where the final score remained. Gilmore's fifth and sixth goal of the game would prove to be the game-winners for a Penn State 16-14 victory.
OF NOTE
- O'Neill moved her scoring streak to 13 games with her six goals on seven shots. She notched a hat trick under 10 minutes into the game and is one goal away from 100 in her career.
- Gilmore's six goals is a new career high and totals 10 this week for the junior.
- Hoss scored her second hat trick of the season.
- There were 10 tie scores in the game.
- Three Penn State players notched hat tricks, which is the largest number of the season in a single game for the Nittany Lions.
- The Nittany Lions caused 11 Tigers turnovers.
- Penn State now has two ranked wins in just one week and continues a three-game win streak.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions finish their road stint at Pittsburgh on Tuesday, March 21. First draw in Highmark Stadium is set for 4 p.m.