PHILADELPHIA – The No. 15 University of Pennsylvania women's lacrosse team engaged in a dramatic battle with No. 6 Michigan Saturday at Franklin Field, the Wolverines escaping with a 6-5 win when Jill Smith scored with just 18.5 seconds left in regulation.
 
Penn lost for the first time this season and is now 6-1 overall, while the sixth-ranked Wolverines out of the Big Ten are 10-0.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn never led in Saturday's game, but the teams were tied at 1-1, 2-2, 4-4 and 5-5.
 
*Penn lost despite doubling up Michigan in the shots category, 28-14; Wolverines goalkeeper Erin O'Grady had 12 stops on the day.
 
*Penn also won the draw battle, 11-4.
 
*Junior Anna Brandt netted her second straight hat trick, giving her 10 goals across Penn's last four contests.
 
*Senior Niki Miles had Penn's other two goals and continues her streak of multiple goals in every game so far this season.
 
*Senior Aly Feeley had six draw controls on the day and also had one of Penn's 12 caused turnovers. Sophie Davis led the Quakers with three CTs while Natasha Gorriaran had two.
 
*Michigan got two goals from Smith and two points each from Kaylee Dyer (1g/1a), Ava Class (1g/1a), and Caroline Davis (2a). Lily Montemarano also had a goal and led the Wolverines with three draw controls. Grace Callahan, Maya Rutherford and Jordyn Harrison all had two CTs.
 
How It Happened
It quickly became apparent that defense would be the story of the day, the teams going nearly the first half of the first quarter scoreless before Dyer broke through with a free-position goal. That held nearly to the end of the period, before Brandt raced into traffic in front and bounced home a short shot with just 24.4 seconds left. That tied it at 1-1 after one.
 
Annabelle Burke and Miles provided the only goals in the second quarter, the Wolverines going up 2-1 with 11:38 left before the Quakers senior beat her defender and converted a lefty shot from some distance a little more than two minutes later. The teams went the final nine minutes of the half without another score, and it was 2-2 at the break.
 
Michigan went up 3-2 early in the third, getting out in transition with Dyer finding Class who came in from the left side of the goal and converted on a low angle at the crease. The Wolverines then doubled up the Quakers on a feed from behind that went to Smith who quickly moved around a defender and rifled a shot home.
 
Penn wasn't done. Miles netted her second of the day with another left-handed shot less than a minute after U-M's fourth goal, and then late in the period Brandt beat her defender in a 1v1 situation and found an opening inside the low far post from the right side. It was 4-4 after three.
 
The teams went more than five minutes without a goal in the fourth, before Michigan again struck on a goal that started from behind the cage. This time it was Montemarano who converted in front, catching Davis' pass in stride and scoring in traffic. However, with 5:44 left Brandt was given a low-angle free-position chance and she won the footrace to the front of the goal, depositing her third of the day to tie things at 5-5.
 
The final minute was certainly dramatic, as Miles quick-sticked a shot from distance on the left side that rang off the left post. Four players raced as the ball went out along the sideline, with Michigan winning the footrace and getting possession. The Wolverines then cleared successfully and called timeout to set up a final play. That turned out to be Smith coming across the middle from the left side, where she caught Class's pass and converted her shot inside the far post
 
Up Next
The Quakers will look to extend their 10-game Ivy League winning streak—which dates back to 2022—when they host Harvard next Saturday at noon. That game will take place at Penn Park.
 
For the latest on Penn women's lacrosse, follow @PennWomensLax on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.