Penn State battles Duke in NCAA semis to OT, loses in controversy
Against a Duke program seeking its fourth NCAA championship, Penn State reached the semifinals Saturday seeking its first finals appearance as a program. To get it, the Nittany Lions would need to knock off a powerhouse Blue Devils program seeded No. 1 overall in this year’s tournament.
Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Penn State came close, but fell short of doing so.
Clawing back from a deficit to reach overtime, a goal by Duke’s Garrett Leadmon ended the Nittany Lions’ season with a 16-15 overtime loss early into the extra frame. A closer review of the goal showed Leadmon’s foot clearly breaching the crease, but NCAA lacrosse does not provide for video review on crease violations. With no recourse to reverse the game-deciding goal, the goal stood, ending Penn State’s season suddenly.
Penn State battles back from persistent deficit
For the Nittany Lions, TJ Malone was a powerhouse throughout. His performance Saturday included six goals and two assists for the fifth-year senior.
Reaching overtime in itself proved to be a challenge for the Nittany Lions, who trailed throughout. Initially taking a lead at 4-3, Penn State quickly found itself on the wrong side of a four-goal streak for the Blue Devils bridging the first and second quarters.
Still, even down 7-3, the Nittany Lions clawed back throughout. A pair of goals from Jack and Matt Traynor helped deliver the game to a 9-7 score at the half.
Again, after the break, Penn State found itself trailing by three goals when Charles Balsamo got on the board for the Blue Devils early in the third quarter. With Malone trading goals with Duke, however, Penn State stayed within striking distance, eventually evening the score at 13-13 on a Jake Morin goal well into the fourth quarter.
