The Penn State women’s lacrosse team lost to Cornell, 13-12, in triple overtime on Wednesday afternoon.
With their come-from-behind win, Cornell continues its undefeated season, advancing their record to 5-0 to start the season for the second year in a row.
This is Penn State’s second overtime game, the first being an exhibition victory against Penn.
With never more than four goals separating the teams, Penn State and Cornell battled for a solid 69 minutes of play, with virtually identical numbers in draw controls.
Goalkeeper Emi Smith had 12 saves for the Lions, but that was not enough to keep the Big Red from getting to the cage. Cornell had more efficient ground control, shots and forced turnovers, which allowed them to come back from a four-goal deficit in the second half.
Cornell’s offense had a surge of energy in the last 10 minutes of the second period, scoring two goals to send the game into overtime.
Penn State led Cornell for 52 minutes of play, but with seven minutes remaining in the second half, Cornell’s Amanda D’Amico, who had five goals in the Big Red, scored the game-tying goal.
Cornell senior captain Caroline Salisbury got the game-winning goal for the Big Red, scoring with 1:17 left in the third overtime period.
Penn State sophomore Maggie McCormick came up big for the Lions, scoring with 47 seconds left in the first overtime period to keep Penn State in the game.
McCormick had two goals and an assist in the loss, and is currently the Lion’s leading scorer with 18 goals this season.
Four players each scored two goals for the Lions, with eight total players scoring in the loss.
With this defeat, the Lions are now 4-3, with each of their losses coming from opponents ranked in the top 15.
Penn State will begin its conference play on Sunday when they welcome Vanderbilt, who is 1-7 this season. Penn State is currently undefeated at home.
