UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A steady offense and stingy defense allowed the No. 8 Loyola University Maryland women's lacrosse team to hand Penn State its first loss of the season, an 11-7 defeat at Panzer Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore Georgia Latch led all players with six points, scoring three goals and assisting three others, while senior Emily Wills also turned in a hat trick, scoring three times for Loyola (4-0 overall). Junior Sydni Black had one goal and three assists, and graduate student Jillian Wilson tacked on one goal and one assist. A goal each from senior Meg Hillman, senior Anna Ruby and sophomore Chase Boyle rounded out the scoring.
Boyle and Black also led the way on the draw, combining for seven draw controls, while graduate student Katie Detwiler won two.
Defensively, sophomore Lauren Spence recorded a personal-best 13 saves and six ground balls in the win. Hillman also finished with a career-high four ground balls.
Kristin O'Neill and Gretchen Gilmore both scored twice for Penn State (4-1), and Ashley Bowan collected nine saves.
In turning back Penn State's first six shots over the course of the first 25 minutes of play, the Greyhounds' offense was able to cruise to a 5-0 lead. Wilson started the scoring in the game with a free-position goal at 12:11 and 17 seconds later, Black found Latch for a quick-stick score. Wills then put away a quick pass from Latch at 1:53 to give the Greyhounds a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Black's lone goal of the game started the second-quarter scoring before Hillman completed the five-goal run at the 8:57 mark. Penn State answered with consecutive goals, but Latch scored on a give-and-go with Black at 1:54 to send the Greyhounds into halftime with a 6-2 advantage.
Wills scored a pair of goals around one from the Nittany Lions to open the second half. Her first goal was assisted by Latch at 13:38 and her second by Wilson at 3:23, moving the score to 8-3. Black again found Latch with 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter to push Loyola ahead by six, 9-3.
Penn State attempted to string together a comeback by scoring the first three goals of the fourth quarter, pulling within three, 9-6, with 9:27 to play. Boyle was credited with a goal on a sloppy defensive play by the Nittany Lions at 8:39 and then Ruby found the back of the net on a transition goal with 18 seconds to play, making the score 11-6. A goal by Penn State at the buzzer was counted, making the final score 11-7.
The Greyhounds will return to action on Wednesday when they host Georgetown at 6 p.m.
