PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team nearly overcame a four-goal deficit in the snowy conditions, falling to #22 Penn State in a 13-11 defeat on Saturday afternoon inside Sweeney Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Sarah Groark opened the scoring in the first two minutes of the contest, finding the net from a feed from Alexa Capozzoli to put the Hawks in front.
- Penn State scored its first goal just over five minutes into the game, notching one more goal in the opening frame to take a 2-1 lead after the opening 15 minutes.
- The Nittany Lions stretched the lead to 4-1 after two goals in the first 2:11 of the second quarter before Bella Miceli went coast-to-coast to end the 4-0 run from the visitors. The visitors found a quick response, tallying two more goals to extend the advantage to 6-2.
- Emma Yoder started a 4-1 run for the Hawks before Kate Fuhrman added a goal to the mix. Capozzoli and Groark added their goals on the other side of the Nittany Lion tally to bring St. Joe's within one goal at the break.
- The Hawks needed just 90 seconds to level the scoring after Maddie Yoder cleanly finished a free-position attempt.
- Penn State answered with three goals over a six-minute span, holding the Hawks out of the net for 13 minutes before Lauren Iorio broke the drought with 30 seconds to play in the third quarter. The visitors took a 10-8 lead headed into the final 15 minutes.
- As the snowy conditions picked up in the fourth quarter, both sides found it difficult to get the attack going as more than seven minutes came off the clock without a score. The Nittany Lions eventually burst through, scoring twice in two minutes to again push the advantage to four goals.
- Trailing 13-9 with three minutes to play, the Hawks launched one more comeback bid after Groark scored her third goal off of Capozzoli's fifth assist. The Hawks won the draw and narrowed the margin through Emma Yoder's second goal of the game.
- A costly Hawk turnover after winning yet another draw provided the Nittany Lions the relief needed to run the clock out and earn a 13-11 win.
GAME NOTES
- Sarah Groark led the Hawks with a team-high three goals. Emma Yoder and Kate Fuhrman each finished with multi-goal games.
- Emma Yoder added three draw controls and a ground ball in the defeat, while Maddie Yoder registered four draw controls to go along with her goal.
- Alexa Capozzoli matched her career-high with five assists, the junior moving into 10th all-time with 51 assists in her career.
- Bella Miceli added a goal from defense, leading the Hawks with two caused turnovers and matching a team-high of four draw controls.
- Jorden Concordia eclipsed 600 career saves with her six-save effort against the Nittany Lions and is 26 saves shy of matching the program record set by Brandy Meyers (1995-98).
- Penn State narrowly recorded a 24-23 advantage in shots, including a 19-16 margin in shots on goal.
- The Hawks won the battle on the draw controls with a 14-13 edge.
UP NEXT
The Hawks make a short trip to Temple to face the Owls on Wednesday, February 19. First draw is slated for 3:00 p.m.
