Never say die.
With its back against the wall — being down two goals — and with five minutes left on the clock, No. 12 Penn women’s lacrosse came back to win by a score of 11-10 in a double-overtime game against No. 6 Maryland (15-6, 7-1 Big Ten). The Quakers continue to the quarterfinals in their NCAA tournament run.
The win marks Penn’s (12-6, 5-2 Ivy) third-consecutive win over the other national powerhouse program, and the Red and Blue most recently won in a nail-biting 13-12 fashion at Franklin Field earlier this season. The current Penn freshmen and sophomores have never lost a game against Maryland, including sophomore attacker Catherine Berkery, who netted the game-winning shot.
“Regardless what the scoreboard says, we are a team that fights until the final whistle and never counts ourselves out,” senior midfielder Anna Brandt wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “It is that unwavering belief, even when the odds are slim, that helped us win on Sunday.”
The game started off in an unsurprising fashion: Brandt scored within one minute of play off an assist from senior attacker Keeley Block. The two Maryland natives put on a show in their home state, each finishing with a hat trick.
However, Brandt’s opening goal was the only lead for Penn until the final goal. After tying the score 2-2, Maryland scored three goals in a row, while Penn struggled to score in the second quarter. Block capitalized on a turnover, though, running it all the way down the field to score and cut Maryland’s momentum.
The Quakers defense proved to be a nightmare for the Terrapins, who could not keep the ball safe. Ultimately, the Terrapins turned the ball over 24 times in the day, with six turnovers caused by Penn senior defender Natasha Gorriaran.
With just about a minute left in the half, Brandt took off after winning the draw control to launch the ball into the goal. That goal was her 200th — making her the first-ever Quakers player to reach that milestone in collegiate lacrosse. While the individual milestone was important, the Quakers were still down 5-6 into halftime.
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Much of the second half fell into a lull as Maryland maintained steady control. Every time Penn brought it within one, Maryland had the answer. Maryland was in control. And Penn’s shooting struggles — being outshot by Maryland 36-21 — kept the win farther and farther out of reach as the minutes ticked by.
Brandt’s third goal of the day made it a 9-10 game late in the fourth quarter, but the Quakers struggled to get the elusive equalizing goal. With a minute left, it felt like they needed a miracle.
But who needs miracles when you have your seniors?
Gorriaran caused a turnover against Maryland midfielder Jordyn Lipkin. On the offensive end, Block was pressured by two defenders and fell. With less than 10 seconds left, Maryland defender Neve O’Farrell picked the ball up and had the chance to secure the game for Maryland, but she too turned the ball over – the Terrapins’ 22nd turnover of the game.
Senior midfielder Gracie Smith was picked up the turnover immediately. She immediately found senior attacker Erika Chung right in the middle of the field. With no time to waste, Chung launched it in the net. The ball sailed past Maryland goalkeeper JJ Suriano with only two seconds left on the clock.
Trailing since the second quarter, the Red and Blue came back to force their fourth overtime game of the season. But even with momentum swinging their way, history didn’t favor them: Penn went 0-for-3 in overtime game wins this season.
Because overtimes are decided by the first team to score, each possession becomes just as dangerous as the last. Neither team could deliver the final blow in the first overtime, which meant a second overtime and another three minutes on the clock.
“As a team we’re very familiar with OT scenarios as we’ve had a number of close games and overtimes this season,” Brandt wrote. “We truly think you don’t rise to the occasion, you fall back on your preparation, and we were prepared for a close game.”
Turnovers had been the Terrapins’ kryptonite all game. And it came back to haunt them one final time when Gorriaran caused yet another turnover.
While Chung sent them to overtime mere minutes ago, this time, Chung went back to her roots as the program leader in assists. With a keen eye for her open teammates, Chung found Berkery running around the cage. Before the defense could close in, Berkery shot towards the opposite top corner of the cage to send Penn.
Penn will play on Thursday against No. 2 Northwestern — a rematch of last year’s NCAA tournament quarterfinals. But this time will be different: 2024 Wharton graduate Niki Miles, a former Penn women’s lacrosse attacker, is competing for Northwestern as a graduate student. This means Penn will have to defeat one of its own if it wants to continue its postseason run and beat Northwestern.
But never say die.
