With a dark sea of storm clouds descending upon Lake Michigan and turning a picturesque evening into a downpour, No. 1 Northwestern and No. 15 Penn State played out the final 96 seconds of Saturday’s weather-delayed Big Ten Tournament championship inside Ryan Fieldhouse.
Toward the bookend of her six-year collegiate career, graduate student goalkeeper Molly Laliberty said she gained a new story to tell as she and her teammates regrouped in the Walter Athletics Center with a team superfan before play resumed.
“I haven’t experienced anything like that, where there’s such a small amount of game left,” said Laliberty, who tallied a game-high 10 saves. “We just went to the locker room, hung out, danced, sang (and) hung out with John-John.”
No bleachers were set up in the indoor facility, so spectators packed the sideline as the Wildcats (15-2, 5-1 Big Ten) surrendered two late goals but held on for a 14-12 victory over the Nittany Lions (11-7, 4-2 Big Ten) to clinch their second consecutive conference tournament title.
Although junior defender Sammy White corralled the game’s opening draw control, an apparent Penn State siege overtook Martin Stadium in the first quarter. The Nittany Lions built a 4-1 advantage and held the NU attack to just three shots during the period.
Penn State attacker Kara Nealon directed feeding traffic, piling on three first-quarter assists to leave the favorites shell shocked. Then, lightning struck the facility for the first time Saturday, taking the form of a second-quarter resurgence for the ’Cats.
“We were just more aggressive with everything we were doing,” coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. “We made some adjustments defensively and offensively… Whatever we did, we did it with a purpose and a focus.”
Less than three minutes into the quarter, graduate student attacker Izzy Scane buried a free-position goal to cut the deficit to two. Graduate student defender Jane Hansen then turned defense into instant offense, jarring the ball free from Nittany Lion midfielder Meghan Murray’s stick, scooping the ground ball and finding junior midfielder Emerson Bohlig for a transition tally.
Hansen tied her career-high with five ground balls — each coming in the first half — and racked up four caused turnovers.
“She just plays fearless on the D end,” Amonte Hiller said of Hansen. “She was taking risks from the get-go. She is very talented … (as) a takeaway defender, and when she’s confident, she’s one of the best at it.”
Heading to the eight-meter with the game tied at 5-5, graduate student attacker Erin Coykendall hurled a heat-seeking-missile into the cage to give NU a 6-5 halftime advantage.
The ‘Cats comprehensively capitalized off the momentum shift once the second half began, converting six consecutive scores out of the break. Graduate student attackers Lindsey Frank, Mary Schumar, Dylan Amontte and Izzy Scane each nabbed a goal, while sophomore attacker Madison Taylor tallied two scores during the run to extend NU’s lead to 12-5.
“Coming into this game, it was my goal to play with confidence and power,” Scane said. “Even if I wasn’t the one scoring the goals, (I’d) at least draw attention to me … (I) was lucky enough the girls on my team let me get so open.”
While Penn State attacker Gretchen Gilmore and midfielders Lauren Saltz and Kayla Abernathy scored four consecutive goals for the visitors, Scane’s fifth score with less than five minutes remaining seemed to silence any semblance of a late comeback push.
With the goal, Scane tied former Boston College attacker Charlotte North’s NCAA career record (358) and gave the ’Cats a 14-10 lead. The championship celebration was all but destined to feature the Chicago skyline in the background, but lightning delayed and relocated the game’s final minute and 36 seconds.
Almost an hour after the championship’s postponement, the clock finally struck triple zeroes, and NU stormed Laliberty’s cage from all angles. Sticks flung as the ’Cats returned to the Big Ten’s pinnacle for the third time in the past four seasons.
“Everything starts to get a little bit more sentimental when you’re coming in on the end of your career,” Scane said. “I was talking to Scotty (Hiller) yesterday, and we’re kind of on borrowed time here. We’ve done everything we can do, and we’re lucky enough to get an extra year… Something like this makes it all the more fun … to put a staple on our time here.”
NU, which clinched an automatic qualifier with Saturday’s victory, will discover its NCAA Tournament seeding Sunday night. The ’Cats likely shored up the tournament’s No. 1 seed for the second consecutive season and will gain a bye into the second round.
For Laliberty, performances like the conference title game are invaluable toward the team’s national championship quest.
“This is exactly the type of lacrosse you want to be playing — the type of intensity and resilience you want to see,” Laliberty said. “Just seeing the fight and mentality everyone had today was super exciting, and I’m excited to see what we can do for the next 25 days if we get that much.”
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