UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Cornell battled back from a four-goal deficit to take a third quarter lead, but a 6-0 Penn State run into the fourth quarter propelled the 18th-ranked Nittany Lions to a 13-10 win on Sunday afternoon at Panzer Stadium.

Amanda Cramer and Caitlin Slaminko each recorded a hat trick and Maggie Pons scored once and assisted on two other goals, with Cramer adding four draw control wins and Ellie Horner stopping 10 shots in goal for the Big Red. Cornell hit double figures in goals for the 11th straight game to open the season.

Penn State's Kristin O'Neill (four goals, two assists) and Meghan Murray (four goals) spearheaded the offense, with Kayla Abernathy winning nine of the Nittany Lions' 14 draws. The home team edged out the Big Red in that category 14-13.

The big difference in the three-goal decision came on free position shots, where Cornell was just 1-of-7 and Penn State went 4-for-7.

After the teams traded goals in the first 90 seconds, the home team rann off four consecutive scores, including three by Murray, to skip out to a 5-1 lead. Cornell seemingly was playing catch-up the rest of the half, getting within 7-5 at the break after scoring two straight to close the first 30 minutes.

The Big Red continued to build on that momentum with three straight scores, taking its first lead of the day at 8-7 on Maggie Pons' score with 5:25 left in the third. Just over a minute, the Nittany Lions tied it on O'Neill's 40th goal of the year, the first  of consecutive free position goals that allowed Penn State to regain the lead. 

Penn State was back out in front with just nine seconds left in the quarter when Murray posted her fourth goal of the night, a score that tipped the momentum right back into PSU's pocket. Four more scores to open the fourth and the Big Red trailed 13-8 before the visitors put two in the back of the net over the final six minutes to make up the final margin.
 

NEXT UP

• The Big Red will close out the regular season with four straight Ivy contests beginning with a home contest against Harvard on Saturday, April 8 at 1 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
• The Crimson lead the all-time series 24-19, though the Big Red has won three straight, seven of the past nine and nine of the last 12 meetings.