Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544665
M A Y 2 0 2 6 19 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FIVE YEARS AGO, 2021 COVID wiped out the fall men's soccer season, so Penn State didn't get its 2020 campaign underway until February 2021. If there was any rust from the long period of inactivity, it didn't show. The Nittany Lions went 6-1-1 in the regular season, then reached the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament, where they took perennial power Indiana to double over- time before falling, 3-2, on penalty kicks. While they weren't able to secure the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth, the Lions did earn an at-large bid and a first-round bye. They opened the tourney May 2 with a 4-1 win over Mas- sachusetts in the second round. Forward Peter Mangione assisted on 3 of the team's 4 goals. The win set up a third-round clash with Georgetown four days later. The de- fending national champions surged to a 3-1 lead in the first half, and while Penn State cut the deficit in half when forward Danny Bloyou scored in the 59th minute, the Lions weren't able to complete their comeback and fell, 3-2, in Cary, N.C. "Emotions after the game were running extremely high," coach Jeff Cook said. "Guys were devastated to not be able to continue the season. I want to be clear: I am not at all disappointed in them or in any particular player. I'm just disap- pointed for them. I'm disappointed that our season is coming to a close, and we're not going to be able to show up at practice and get ready for a quarterfinal. That's go- ing to take a few days, at least, to get over. I'm proud of them, but we've got another gear to get to, another level to go to as a program. I'm really confident that this group can achieve that." 10 YEARS AGO, 2016 The Penn State women's lacrosse team earned its first Final Four berth since 1999 when it defeated visiting Penn, 8-4, on May 21 in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions, who had stunned second-ranked Florida, 14-13 in overtime, a week earlier, were unfazed by the steady rain that fell on Penn State Lacrosse Field throughout the game. After surrendering a pair of early goals, PSU held the Quakers scoreless for nearly 28 minutes while building a 6-2 lead. Goalkeeper Emi Smith had 8 saves, while attacker Madison Cyr led the of- fense with 2 goals and 2 assists. "It was an awesome win for our pro- gram and just an awesome day in general," coach Missy Doherty said. "Our defense just played out of their minds today. They were stopping their main threats. I was so proud of them, how on top of things they were." The unseeded Lions saw their title bid end in the national semifinals with a 12- 11 loss to North Carolina on May 27 in Chester, Pa. PSU scored the game's last 4 goals, but its rally fell short when Steph Lazo's potential tying shot was saved by Tar Heels goalkeeper Caylee Waters with 38 seconds left. 25 YEARS AGO, 2001 Reaching the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, the Penn State softball team dropped its first game at the Baton Rouge Regional to Arizona State, 4-1, on May 17 but bounced back with a 4-0 win over Cornell later that same day and followed with a second consecutive shutout on May 18, topping Southern Miss, 1-0. The Nittany Lions' hopes of advancing in the tournament were scuttled the next day when they dropped a 2-1 decision to host LSU. Nevertheless, Penn State's per- formance was part of the longest stretch of NCAA Tournament success in program history. Under the guidance of coach Robin Petrini, PSU reached the tourney seven times in an eight-year span from 2000-07. — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History Senior attacker Madison Cyr had 2 goals and 2 assists in Penn State's 8-4 victory over Penn in the quarterfinals of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS