EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette persisted through two overtime periods to defeat No. 16 Penn State in shootouts, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon at Rappolt Field. Lea Good and Stella Malinowski both secured their 1v1 chance as the Nittany Lions were held to one shootout score.

The last time the Maroon and White knocked off a ranked squad was Oct. 20, 2024 against No. 20 Temple in overtime, 2-1.

Junior defender Lena Thedrian opened the first period with a drag flick tally during a penalty corner at 7:37 to give the Leopards the early lead.

Penn State equalized, 1-1, just before halftime (21:04) using a goal by Natalie Freeman.

The Nittany Lions took a 2-1 lead in the third quarter. Morgan Snyder was awarded a penalty stroke which escaped the reach of Lafayette keeper Raffi Fragomeni at 37:22.

Despite the gap, Lafayette remained attentive and explosive on offense during the final 15 minutes of regulation. The Leopards pulled their goalkeeper at the four-minute mark for an extra field player, using Maddie Evans for a man-up situation.

Freshman Lauren Kurek, who currently leads the Leopards with seven points on the season, sneaked a penalty corner deflection into the net with 37 seconds remaining on the clock to send the game to overtime.

In the two extra 10-minute periods, the Nittany Lions outshot the Leopards 6-3, but Fragomeni's four saves fought off the golden goal in that time, including a stop during an opposing penalty corner.

Shootouts began with both teams making their first attempt, Malinowski for the hosts and Sophia Mannino for the opponents (after a successful video review).

Following that, tries by Lafayette's Thedrian, Josephine van Wijk and Linda Nova, as well as Penn State's Anouk Knuvers, Ella Jennes and Natalie Freeman, were all missed or halted by the opposing goalkeeper.

Good, looking to break the dry spell, dribbled to the right side and was able to slip it into the net for a 2-1 advantage in shootouts. Fragomeni made a left-sided swat to block the Nittany Lions' last chance, Joji Purdy, as the senior from Mountain Lakes, N.J. was enclosed in a circle of her teammates to celebrate the win.

Nationally-ranked Penn State held the advantage in total shots (16-9) and penalty corners (7-5).

Lafayette's Fragomeni made nine saves overall in the win. Her Penn State counterpart, Aby Deverka, made two.

The Leopards remain at home to continue Patriot League play against Bucknell on Friday at 6 p.m.

 
For the latest on the Lafayette College field hockey program, follow the Leopards on Twitter @LafayetteFH and Instagram @lafayette_fh.