The Youngstown State women's lacrosse team outscored Ohio State 8-5 in the second half but couldn't overcome its first half deficit in a 17-9 loss to the Buckeyes at the Watson and Tressel Training Site on Friday.
The Penguins fall to 0-2 on the season while the Buckeyes improve to 3-0.
Grace Rund led the Penguins with a hat trick of goals, scoring the firsts of her career, while Katie Grottenthaler, Ava Kreutzer, Ally Garrett, Brooke Peck, and Jade Shearer each found the back of the net once.
Goalie Paige Borkowski made 11 saves, nine of which came in the first half. Borkowksi allowed 17 goals for a .393 save percentage.
Kayla Stecker led the Penguins in both caused turnovers and ground balls. She collected three ground balls and forced two turnovers. Genna Cooke and Shearer each recorded three draw controls.
A quartet of Buckeyes found the back of the net twice to lead the OSU scoring effort: Jamie Lasda, Leah Sax, Kampbell Stone, and Kate Tyack. Brynn Ammerman led the Buckeyes in points with four from one goal and three assists. Goalies Regan Alexander and Whiney Robinson shared minutes in the cage, each coming away with five saves
Entering halftime down 12-1, the Penguins opened the second half with two goals in a row to mark the start of a valiant comeback attempt against the Buckeyes. Peck started the scoring effort at the 11:28 mark of the third quarter before Rund delivered her first of three just over a minute later to make the score 12-3.
The Buckeyes closed out the third and opened the fourth with a score to move their lead to 13-3 before the Penguins caught fire and scored three in a row. Rund scored the first goal of the run before Garrett delivered her first goal of the season. Cox shot one right through the legs of OSU's goalie to make the score 14-6 with 6:24 to play.
The Penguins and Buckeyes would exchange goals as Grottenthaler's score at the 4:15 mark of the third was sandwiched by two OSU goals, making the score 16-7.
Rund would complete her second-half hat trick with 2:26 to play to lift the score to 16-8. Jade Shearer would find the back of the net two minutes later, making the score 16-9 with 28 seconds to play. The Buckeyes closed out the game with a quick score with two seconds remaining to make the final score 17-9.
To open the game, the Buckeyes came out on an 8-0 run that was halted by Kreutzer's first career score at the 12:29 mark of the second quarter. OSU closed out the first half with another four goals to make the score 12-1 at halftime before the Penguins' impressive second half.
The Buckeyes won the draw control margin, 17-11, and outshot the Penguins 32-24.
The Penguins return to the road to face Duquesne on Thursday, Feb. 22 on Rooney Field in Pittsburgh Pa. First draw is set for 4 p.m.
