UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – Kevin Winkoff scored with 52 seconds remaining in the second overtime to lift eighth-ranked Penn State to a 12-11 win over sixth-ranked Johns Hopkins Saturday evening in Panzer Stadium.  The Nittany Lions trailed by five early, led by three late and then won it on Winkoff's game-winner after back-to-back turnovers in quick succession found him alone with time and room from 12 yards.  The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Blue Jays.
 
Winkoff had forced overtime with a goal late in the fourth quarter that answered a Russell Melendez offering that had given the Blue Jays an 11-10 lead with 2:37 remaining.  Winkoff followed 30 seconds later with the equalizer.  The Blue Jays had a late chance to win on a man-up opportunity, but the Nittany Lion defense held to send the game to overtime.
 
The Blue Jays (9-4, 2-1 B1G) took all four shots in the first overtime period, but Penn State's Jack Fracyon came up with three saves and he added one in the second overtime as Hopkins took the first five shots in extra time.  As the clock ticked under the one-minute mark in the second overtime, a Nittany Lion turnover was followed quickly by the Blue Jay miscue; TJ Malone came up with the loose ball and found Winkoff alone and he buried the game-winner in the unsettled situation.
 
Johns Hopkins had built an early 5-0 lead as Russell Melendez scored four first-quarter goals and Johnathan Peshko added one at the 8:21 mark of the second quarter to give the Blue Jays the five-goal lead.

2Q | 2;25
JHU-6, PSU-4

Melendez with his fifth of the first half. #GoHop pic.twitter.com/axcjBLsTK0

— JHU Men's Lacrosse (@jhumenslacrosse) April 8, 2023

 
Penn State (7-3, 2-1 B1G) answered with a four-goal run that was jump-started by back-to-back Matt Traynor tallies just 52 seconds apart and strikes from Kyle Aldridge and Mark Sickler in a 17-second span; in all, the four goals were scored in a span of just 2:07.
 
Melendez added his fifth goal of the opening 30 minutes with 3:11 on the first-half clock, but Malone scored twice in 15 seconds and Jack Traynor added an extra-man goal with 32 seconds remaining in the second quarter to give Penn State a 7-6 halftime lead.
 
The Blue Jays were even just over for minutes into the third quarter when attackman Garrett Degnon blew one home from the wing, but Malone wrapped a pair around a Jake Morin strike in a three-goal run that bridged the third and fourth quarters to give the Nittany Lions a 10-7 lead with just under 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
 
As they have during the last five games, the Blue Jays took control after the clock dripped under the 10-minute mark.  A Brendan Grimes snipe from a tough angle with 9:58 on the clock was followed 78 seconds later by a laser from Degnon from the top of the box that made it 10-9.

4Q | 8:40
PSU-10, JHU-9

Degnon from deep to pull the Jays within one. #GoHop pic.twitter.com/s1q9nGKEem

— JHU Men's Lacrosse (@jhumenslacrosse) April 9, 2023

 
That score held for more than four minutes before freshman Brooks English scored from in-tight off a quick feed from Casey McDermott and Melendez added his sixth of the night a short time later to give the Blue Jays the 11-10 lead.  Winkoff's first goal just 30 seconds later set the stage for the frenetic final two minutes of regulation and more than seven minutes of overtime before he added his game-winner.
 
Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
• Melendez finished with a career-high six goals.  He had previously scored four goals twice this season.
• Degnon (2g), Grimes (1g, 1a) and McDermott (2a) all had multi-points games for the Blue Jays.
• Hopkins outshot the Nittany Lions 42-32 and were good on 19-of-20 clears on the night.
• The Blue Jay defense held the Nittany Lions scoreless for the first 22:12 and for a span of 10:51 in the fourth quarter.
 
Inside the Box Score – Penn State
• Malone had a game-high seven points on four goals and three assists.
• Winkoff and Matt Traynor both scored twice and five different Nittany Lions had multi-point games.
• Fracyon finished with 16 saves, including the four in overtime and three in the fourth quarter.
• Chase Mullins took all 28 faceoffs for Penn State and was 19-of-28 with five ground balls.
 
Notes of Interest
• Degnon extended his goal-scoring streak to 25 games with his two tallies tonight.
• Johns Hopkins had won eight of its previous 12 overtime games.
• Since 1980, tonight's game was the 12^th Hopkins game to go to multiple overtime periods.
• Since 1961, Johns Hopkins had been 9-0 in games played on April 8 before tonight's loss.
• In the last six games, JHU has scored the opposition 21-5 in the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter.
 
Up Next
Johns Hopkins will return to action on action on Saturday, April 15 when the Blue Jays welcome Ohio State to Homewood Field (2 pm) for Homecoming.  The game will air live on ESPNU.