The Buckeyes played host to the American Lacrosse Conference Tournament at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium this week, as they lost to Penn State 14-12 in the quarterfinal round.
The Nittany Lions (10-7) wasted no time, putting their first goal in the net within the first 40 seconds. The two teams then exchanged goals before PSU went on to score seven of the next nine goals, forcing the Buckeyes to call a time-out to regroup.
“We dug ourselves a hole. We waited too long to come back,” said Kelly Haggerty, a three-year letter winner who ended the game with two goals and three assists. “We knew how much we wanted it and we remind ourselves how much we wanted to win this game. We just try to pump ourselves up because we know we can do it, we know we have it in us.”
OSU put in two goals before the half, heading into the locker room down 10-6.
Both committed several turnovers in the first half, with OSU recording six and PSU recording five.
The Buckeyes fired back at the start of the second period, bringing the score back 8-10. PSU followed up with four straight goals to give the Nittany Lions a solid six-goal cushion late in the second.
OSU, who came back from behind just once this season, was unable to catch up with PSU despite a four-goal scoring run to end the game.
“I always ask the girls to play their heart out and I’ve questioned that in a couple close games, but this one today they played as hard as they could until the bitter end,” coach Sue Stimmel said. “It’s just unfortunate when you don’t win in those situations.”
Sophomore Alayna Markwordt led the Buckeyes with three goals and junior Jayme Beard recorded a game-high four assists in the loss.
Members of the team and coaching staff wore orange armbands with the initials “Y.L.” on them in honor of Yeardley Love, the Virginia women’s lacrosse player who was killed on Monday.
A moment of silence was held prior to the awards ceremony Saturday on her behalf.
This marks the end of the season for the lacrosse girls, who got to play their last game on home turf.
“It was awesome. I’m sad it’s over, but there’s no other place to play like this,” Haggerty said. “A lot of people don’t get to experience what we experience. It’s just really heartfelt, and there’s nothing like team camaraderie.”
