As the closing seconds ticked off the clock, Penn State might have seen its post-season chances slowly slip away.

The No. 14 Penn State men's lacrosse team (6-6, 3-2 ECAC) never led against No. 3 Virginia (10-2, 2-1 ACC) on Saturday, yet made a strong push in the second half before falling just short, 11-10, in Charlottesville, Va.

Last season, the Nittany Lions posted their biggest win of the year against this same Virginia team, upsetting the Cavaliers, 13-8, at University Park.

It looked like the Cavaliers remembered last season's upset, and came out very strong in the first period, as Cavalier freshman Matt Ward scored a hat trick to get Virginia out to an early 5-0 lead.

But the Lions, led by sophomore attackman John Eremus, fought back, capitalizing on Virginia penalties to score a pair of extra-man goals.

Eremus ended a six-game scoreless streak in a big way with a career-high three goals and two assists to lead Penn State.

Late in the second quarter, Virginia led just 5-4, but scored four more goals in the period to take a 9-5 lead into halftime.

The Lions, who have never made an appearance in the NCAA tournament, started the season with a whimper, losing five out of their first six games.

But they had been coming on strong of late, winning five in a row, including upsets over higher ranked Rutgers and Massachusetts.

Penn State couldn't pull off another upset though, as it crept to within one goal, 10-9, heading into the final quarter. Virginia made it 11-9 with an extra-man goal before Mike Jacober made it 11-10 with just his fifth goal of the season.

The Lions had a chance to tie the game in the final minute, but a Luke Oglesby pass was knocked down by a Virginia defenseman and the Cavaliers ran out the clock.

Both goalies, who were high school teammates in Annapolis, Md., played strong games in goal. Penn State's Chris Garrity recorded 20 saves, while Virginia's Tillman Johnson turned back 15 of his own.

"It wasn't a beautiful game," Virginia men's lacrosse coach Dom Starsia said. "It was a hard-fought win against a good team."

Penn State will play its final regular-season game this weekend when it hosts Ohio State at Jeffrey Field.

If Penn State is to make its first appearance in the NCAA tournament, it will need to show the selection committee that it deserves an at-large bid.