Rutgers women's lacrosse struggles mightily in 2nd half, falls in overtime thriller against Penn State
The Rutgers women’s lacrosse team played a competitive matchup against Penn State on Saturday. The Scarlet Knights (5-2, 0-1) fell 10-9 to the Nittany Lions (3-4, 1-0) in overtime in what was each team’s first Big Ten game of the season.
No. 22 Rutgers opened the game with a first-quarter shutout of Penn State. Graduate student midfielder Cassidy Spilis delivered the 1st goal of the game to get the Knights started.
Sophomore attacker Ava Kane and senior midfielder Ashley Moynahan picked up the next 2 goals for Rutgers, with Spilis ending the quarter with 1 last goal. The Knights took an early 4-0 lead.
The Nittany Lions, were prepared to fight during the second quarter, though, producing 6 goals from five different players. Gretchen Gilmore scored the 1st goal for Penn State with another goal later in the quarter.
Assisted by junior midfielder and attacker Victoria Goldrick, sophomore attacker and midfielder Lily Dixon netted another goal for Rutgers following Gilmore’s 1st goal.
Brooke Hoss and Kristin O’Neill each scored for the Nittany Lions to bring the game to 5-3. Spilis would respond with a goal straight into the back of the net to help out the Knights.
Penn State tied the score at 6-6, but with 16 seconds left to play before halftime, sophomore midfielder Kayleigh Coughlin scored to give Rutgers a 1-goal lead.
In a very quiet third quarter, the Nittany Lions netted goals from Meghan Murray and Gilmore to gain their first lead of the day. The Knights were unable to produce any goals during the quarter, which would go on to hurt them.
With 1 more goal to start the fourth quarter, Penn State continued its scoring streak to give it the lead of 9-7. Looking for the offensive drive to get Rutgers back in the game, Spilis scored 2 goals to bring the game into overtime.
Entering overtime, the Nittany Lions won the draw. After maintaining possession of the ball, Gilmore managed to fly the it into the net one final time, giving Penn State the victory.
The Knights will look to bounce back from their first home loss of the season as their next two games are also scheduled take place at home.
Rutgers will first take on Michigan on Thursday before battling Yale on Sunday. Thursday’s contest will begin at 6 p.m. while Sunday’s will be at noon.
For more updates on the Rutgers women's lacrosse team, follow @TargumSports on X.
