With the score tied at eight and Chris Hogan's shot in the closing minutes of Saturday's game stopped by the Massachusetts goalie, it appeared the Penn State men's lacrosse team was headed to overtime for the second-straight game.
After all, the teams had traded goals ever since the Nittany Lions had tied the game at six in the last minute of the third quarter.
However, a Jim Connolly goal with just 55 seconds remaining broke the tie for the final time, giving the No. 14 UMass Minutemen a 9-8 win in a game that featured six ties and two lead changes.
"That was the difference," coach Glenn Thiel said. "It was just a matter of who was going to have the ball in the last minute of the game. We had a chance with two minutes left and didn't capitalize, they had a chance in the last minute and did capitalize."
The Lions played at a much faster pace Saturday than last week and the two teams had combined for more goals by halftime -- 10 -- than were scored in all of Penn State's 5-4 loss to Fairfield last week.
Senior Rob Forster said the Lions played much faster and put more of an emphasis on being the aggressors offensively than they had in the past.
"It was a completely different style than what we had been playing," he said. "A lot more run-and-gun, we were pushing the ball a lot more and we had guys running all over the place yesterday, creating instant offense for us."
Coming off an overtime loss last week, the Lions are no strangers to close games.
However, the team has struggled in those types of contests this year, dropping to 0-4 in one-goal games with Saturday's loss.
"These one goal games are killing us and we just have to figure out a way to finish," Forster said. "I thought we played very well, but we have to start picking up those wins."
Playing their final season in the ECAC before switching to the Colonial Athletic Association next season, the Lions came into the year with a goal of ending their run in the ECAC with a conference title.
However, with almost half of its seven-game conference slate now complete, Penn State is 0-3 in conference play after the loss to the Minutemen.
"Every game is going to be a battle from now on," Thiel said. "Nobody is going to run away and hide from us.
"We're certainly good enough to stick with anybody, we just have to put it all together.
Sitting at 3-5 overall and with only six games left on the regular season schedule, Forster said the team knows it can not afford another loss.
"We basically have to win out," he said. "Every single week is a must-win now."
