Penn State women's lacrosse loses fifth straight: falling to No. 5 Maryland

The Nittany Lions entered their Big Ten opener against Maryland hoping to replicate last season’s gutsy energy.

In 2024, the blue-and-white won in upset fashion despite being outshot and giving up more turnovers.

The Terrapins, who recently jumped up four spots in the Inside Lacrosse poll, entered the 2025 contest on a four-game win streak after a 15-9 season-opening loss to No. 6 Syracuse.

Maryland set the tone within the first minute, as Jordyn Lipkin scored her eighth goal of the season at the 14:14 mark of the first quarter after an Erika Ho green card.

Elise Smigiel answered with a Penn State goal at 11:56 from a Brooke Long assist.

After a Maryland green card, the Nittany Lions would notch another goal off an Erika Ho free position shot to give Penn State a 2-1 lead.

Emma Kelly would follow suit with her eleventh goal of the year to extend the Nittany Lion lead.

Maryland fought back, as junior midfielder Kori Edmondson scored her sixteenth goal of the season unassisted to put the Terrapins back on the board. A Shelby Sullivan goal would follow, tying the game.

Penn State answered to re-take the lead within the final two minutes on a Brooke Hoss goal.

Penn State rode their first quarter momentum into the second as Lauren Saltz scored back-to-back goals to extend Penn State’s lead to 6-3.

Kelly MacKinney continued to dish out the assists with a feed to freshman Ellie Wisch, scoring her seventh goal of the young season.

A Maryland scoring run would follow.

The Terps initially cut into the deficit at the 7:59 mark as Sullivan scored her second goal of the game. Emma Abazia would follow up with a free position goal, while sophomore attacker Maisy Clevenger scored her ninth of the season shortly after.

Jordyn Lipkin scored the game-tying goal with 5:49 remaining in the first half. Edmondson followed, giving the Terps the lead at 4:33.

Abbazia would net her second goal at 2:12 after a Devin Livingston assist.

Penn State would stop the 6-0 Maryland run off a goal from Ho, her twenty-first of the season.

Kayla Gilmore scored one more to give the Terps a 10-8 lead at halftime.

At the end of the first half, Maryland held a 12-8 advantage in draw controls. The Nittany Lions and the Terrapins committed 11 fouls in a physical first half.

Maryland goalkeeper J.J. Suriano opened the second half with a big save off an Emma Kelly free position shot. This spark led to another Lipkin goal after a successful Maryland clear and a Terrapins scoring run.

Sullivan would notch another goal with 12:33 to go in the third quarter, while Lipkin followed at 11:41.

Clevinger added another goal within 30 seconds of the Lipkin score. Chrissy Thomas followed with 9:46 remaining in the third quarter. Megan Kenny responded with her first goal of the season.

Penn State did escape unscathed midway through the third quarter after a Wisch green card.

Hoss would break the Nittany Lions' scoring drought with 11:31 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Kenny responded with her second goal, and Kate Sites added another to extend the Maryland lead to nine.

Penn State’s Wisch would score her eighth goal of the season off a Hoss assist. Edmondson would respond for Maryland with 3:05 to play.

Penn State’s Hoss would score with 41 seconds remaining off a free position shot. The goal cemented the game’s 19-11 final score.

Maryland held a slight 34-32 edge in shots, an 18-16 edge in draw controls, and a 25-20 advantage in ground balls. The Terrapins defense caused 12 turnovers while the Nittany Lions caused 11.

Suriano, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, had a stellar day in goal for Maryland, making 11 saves.

With the win, the Terrapins improved to 45-18-1 all-time over Penn State.

The Nittany Lions will look to take down No. 3 Northwestern in Evanston at 2 p.m. on Sunday, while Maryland will host Michigan at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Isaac Hallock is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email idh5055@psu.edu