UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 9 Stanford was unable to hold a five-goal second-half lead and suffered its first loss this season, 17-15 to No. 15 Penn State in nonconference women’s lacrosse action Tuesday.
Stanford (4-1) got four goals from Kyle Fraser and two apiece from Hannah Farr, Lucy Dikeou, Rachel Ozer, and Kelly Myers.
Stanford scored the first three goals, and never trailed until Steph Lazo scored a free-position goal with 2:21 left in the game for a 16-15 lead. Madison Cyr closed it out with the clincher, with 58 seconds left.
Stanford led 11-6 in the second half and took a 14-11 lead with 7:29 left when Fraser found room on a run around the goal for an open shot from in front. After that, however, Penn State won five of seven draws, with every possession leading to a goal. After one of its draw controls, Stanford immediately turned the ball over and Penn State was able to control the ball for all but 11 seconds of the final 4:41.
Kelly Myers gave Stanford a 15-13 lead when she cut through the middle of the defense, took a pass from Rachel Ozer, and fired in a shot from close range with 4:41 to go, only for the Nittany Lions to close the game on a 4-0 run.
This was the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The gametime temperature was 42 degrees and sunny, with the artificial turf field ringed by piles of snow. Stanford was hoping for a third victory over a top-20 opponent in as many tries. The Cardinal resumes play Friday at Harvard (3-3) at 4 p.m. PT in a game to be broadcast live on ESPN3.com.
Penn State 17, Stanford 15
Stanford 9 6 -- 15
Penn State 5 12 -- 17
Stanford (goals-assists): Kyle Fraser 4-0, Hannah Farr 2-1, Lucy Dikeou 2-1, Rachel Ozer 2-1, Kelly Myers 2-0, Elizabeth Cusick 1-2, Alexandra Crerend 1-0, Alex Poplawski 1-0, Mackenzie Tesei 0-1.
Penn State: Tatum Coffey 3-1, Steph Lazo 3-0, Jenna Mosketti 3-0, Katie O'Donnell 3-0, Madison Cyr 2-1, Maggie McCormick 1-4, Maggie Gallagher 1-0, Abby Smucker 1-0.
Records: Stanford 4-1, Penn State 7-3.
