The droughts that the No. 18 Penn State (3-9, 1-2) women's lacrosse team is having this season would only be enjoyable for Noah and his ark.
All season long, the Nittany Lions have hit a point in the game where the offense stalls and the defense can't make a stop. Any advantage is erased and most of the time the final result ends up that much more frustrating.
That was the case again on Saturday in the 13-11 loss to No. 11 Northwestern (10-1, 3-0). The Lions played their best lacrosse of the season for the first 18 minutes, jumping out to a 6-1 lead against an American Lacrosse Conference opponent that they had to beat.
After the sixth goal, Wildcats' coach Kelly Amonte Hiller dialed for some relief in the form of a timeout with 12:18 remaining in the first half. It was then that her team went on its run and denied Penn State of a goal for 20 minutes.
"We started up strong 6-1, and then we give up seven straight goals," Penn State women's lacrosse coach Suzanne Isidor said. "That was our goal not to do; not to let a team make a run. That was the game right there."
Northwestern finished the first half with four unanswered goals, including two in the final minute, one with only three seconds remaining. In the second half, the Wildcats used all of their momentum and scored three more before Penn State even got its first shot off with 22:43 left.
All the draws that Penn State won in the first half now went Northwestern's way. The aggressive offense of the Lions began to turn the ball over, and the team that was once comfortable with its lead, was forced to play on its heals.
"I think it was more of a lack of focus on our part than anything that they did," senior midfielder Katie Hartman said. "We just get comfortable when we're up five goals. Sixty minutes is what you have to play if you want to win."
Northwestern, on the other hand, showed the poise that Penn State has lacked all season. After getting the lead, the Wildcats slowed the game down and played smart. Instead of losing the momentum, they simply moved the ball around effectively and put the ball in the goal enough to keep the lead.
The drought that Penn State went through on Saturday was not even the worst this season. Its longest time without a goal actually came in the double overtime win against Penn, where it went 29 minutes.
In Penn State's nine losses, a run has been the difference in seven games. The runs typically come at the end of the halves, where momentum plays a huge factor.
Against North Carolina, the Lions did not score the final 28 minutes of the 13-4 loss. In that same weekend, they had an 18-minute stretch from the first half into the second with no goals, while Maryland scored seven straight goals.
Possibly the worst case of them all was against William & Mary, where Penn State allowed five straight goals in the final 15 minutes to send the game into overtime. The tying goal came with six seconds left, and the Lions eventually lost in overtime.
With pretty much no chance of making the NCAA tournament now, the Lions have five more opportunities to learn how to play a full game. With a good core of players expected to come back next season, it would be a good lesson to learn.
If not, Isidor will be paraphrasing games in the same two words she used on Saturday, "It sucked."
