BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team never led Wednesday night's game against Penn State when the clock was moving.
 
That didn't seem to matter to anyone on the Blue Jay sideline 2:22 into overtime when sophomore Lacey Downey stuck the game-winning goal to lift Johns Hopkins to a crucial 12-11 Big Ten victory over the Nittany Lions.
 
After falling behind by two early in the second quarter, the Blue Jays pulled within one five times before falling behind by three early in the fourth quarter, only to rally themselves into extra time for the fourth time this season.  There, Downey's second goal of the game pushed the Jays to a perfect 4-0 in overtime this season.
 
The Blue Jays (11-4, 5-2 B1G) found themselves in a 10-7 hole early in the fourth quarter after Brooke Hoss scored from the slot to give the Nittany Lions their biggest lead of the game with 13:21 on the clock.
 
Just 46 seconds later, it was Hopkins' Taylor Hoss – the younger sister of Penn State's Brook – jump-starting a three-goal Blue Jay run that took exactly two minutes and included goals from Samantha DiCarlo and Charlotte Smith.  Junior Ava Angello assisted on the DiCarlo and Smith goals as she threaded feeds to the middle that the converted.
 
Brooke Hoss gave Penn State its final lead of the game when she beat the shot clock with a six-yarder that found the inside of the near post with 7:08 remaining, but sister Taylor matched her just over four minutes later to force the second tie of the fourth quarter and third of the game.  Downey was lined up for a free position shot on the play, but fed a cutting Hoss on the backside and she stuck her third of the game.
 
Penn State had a chance late in regulation to win it, but a pass to the middle was fanned on as time expired and the Nittany Lions then had the first possession in overtime, but a Hannah Johnson caused turnover gave the Blue Jays possession and they capitalized.  Taylor Hoss chased down an errant pass near the sideline and raced towards the arc, where she found Downey on the run; Downey ducked under a defender and picked the far post for the game-winner.
 
The Nittany Lions (7-8, 5-3 B1G) never trailed in a first half that ended with them holding a 6-4 lead.  After the teams split the first four goals through 15 minutes to account for a 2-2 score entering the second quarter, the Nittany Lions used back-to-back goals in a 56-second span early in the period to grab a two-goal lead.
 
Junior Erika Ho rifled one home on the run after taking a feed from Emma Kelly and Ho got the helper less than a minute later on a Kelly MacKinney transition strike to give the Lions the 4-2 lead.
 
The two-goal cushion held for less than minute before Smith spun past a defender on the wing after a Penn State failed clear and found Campbell Case alone on the doorstep to pull the Jays within 4-3 with 12:14 on the second-quarter clock.
 
The 4-3 score held for nearly nine minutes, but not for a lack of chances for both teams.  Johns Hopkins' goalie Morgan Giardina and her counterpart – Penn State's Sydney Manning – were both equal to three on-cage offerings during that time and the Blue Jays hit the post twice before the Ho split a pair of defenders and scored while falling to the ground from five yards out.
 
A Taylor Hoss behind-the-back snipe from the slot just 74 seconds before halftime was matched 31 seconds later by Penn State's Allie Wisch to account for the 6-4 halftime score.
 
Downey scored on a free position shot to open the second-half scoring and the teams traded the next four goals before Wisch got free in tight and Payton Wainman found her to give the Nittany Lions a 9-7 lead entering the final period.
 
The Brooke Hoss goal to open the period came 1:39 later and was followed by Hopkins' three-goal run that pulled them even and helped set the stage for Downey's overtime heroics.
 
Angelo punched up six points on one goal and a career-high five assists, while Taylor Hoss (3g, 1a), Downey (2g, 2a) , Laural Gonzalez (2g,), Smith (1g, 2a) and Case (1g, 1a) all added multi-point games.
 
Ho had a game-high four goals for Penn State, while Wisch (2g) and Brooke Hoss (2g) also added multi-goal games.  Manning finished with 12 saves and Ho added eight of Penn State's 15 draw controls on the night.
 
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Saturday, April 19 when the Blue Jays travel to Maryland to take on the Terps.