Nittany Lions’ rally sends Hoyas home

A year ago this weekend, Georgetown needed only a defeat of Penn State to remain in the discussion for the NCAA lacrosse tournament, only to fall in overtime.

Saturday offered the same scenario - and an identical result: a sudden-death setback against the Nittany Lions, an abrupt end to a season that was bumpy from start to finish.

Rob Forster scored his fourth goal of the game with 58 seconds left in the second extra session as No. 20 Penn State escaped with a 12-11 victory at Multi-Sport Field.

“It’s devastating in every way, shape and form,” said attackman Jake Samperton, who scored three goals for the No. 18 Hoyas (7-7, 3-4 ECAC). “It’s not how I envisioned it ending either year, especially my career.”

Drew Adams made 19 saves, including four in overtime, as the Nittany Lions (9-5, 4-3) won their sixth straight and at least make themselves a plausible part of the postseason discussion entering Sunday night’s selection announcement.

Each stop by Adams represented a squandered chance for Georgetown, which led by two late in the third quarter before a wild finish featuring a goal off a loose-ball scrum in the final seconds of regulation that helped the Hoyas reach overtime.

In many ways, it was reflective of Georgetown’s entire season. For every road defeat of Maryland or Massachusetts, there was an inexplicable loss to Hobart or St. John’s to prompt uncertainty about how good the Hoyas really are.

There were times Saturday when the Hoyas hinted they possessed the ability to create significant headaches in the NCAA tournament. Yet there were also 24 turnovers and 54 shots, a decided clue that Georgetown was not nearly as efficient as was required.

“It’s pretty indicative of the way things have gone throughout the whole year,” Georgetown coach Dave Urick said. “Just close, just can’t get quite over the hump. You just need somebody else to make a play or a ball to bounce our way a little bit.”

Georgetown actually created one of those breaks in the closing seconds of regulation. Attackman Craig Dowd chased down a ground ball on the edge of the box, then skipped a pass toward the crease. Ricky Mirabito shoveled it past Adams with a half-second left, ensuring the Hoyas maintained hope for a while longer.

The Hoyas enjoyed man-up possessions in both overtimes, calling timeouts before each yet coming up with nothing. Then came Forster’s winner, an 8-yard shot that Georgetown goalie Jack Davis (11 saves) appeared to have stopped until his stick came down inside the goal line.

“Robbie had the best of us today,” defenseman Stevie Bauer said. “Some things just weren’t going together. Some guys were missing their cues.”

Those minor miscues accumulated Saturday and throughout the season, clinching another early end for a program that had become accustomed to the postseason.

“We just have to take a hard, long look at what we do and how we’re doing it, and make changes if we think they’re appropriate and go forward,” Urick said.

No. 14 Maryland 10, Yale 6: Travis Reed had two goals and an assist as the Terrapins (9-6) outlasted the Bulldogs (5-8) in New Haven, Conn. The victory likely solidified Maryland’s chances of earning an at-large NCAA tournament berth.