Penn State completes greatest comeback in NCAA lacrosse tournament history to go to final four

Penn State's season looked over.

The Nittany Lions trailed 12-6 with 5:56 left in the third quarter to two-time defending national champion Notre Dame in the NCAA quarterfinal. That's not a deficit that you come back from.

But then, Penn State's defense clamped down. Notre Dame didn't score for the rest of the game.

PSU rattled off eight unanswered goals. A glorious comeback victory, 14-12.

"It was one of the most miraculous and inspired comebacks you'll ever see," ESPN's Quint Kessenich said on the broadcast.

"It is one of the greatest comebacks in the history of this NCAA tournament," ESPN's Anish Shroff added.

Penn State was tied 3-3 early in the second quarter, but then Notre Dame went on a 5-0 run. That looked like the surge that might put the game away early.

The Nittany Lions didn't have answers early in the second half, either. Notre Dame remained in control.

But then Penn State, led by superstar Matt Treanor, took over. And goal by goal, they got back in it until they finally flew right into the lead.

They capped things in style, when Ethan Long shot the behind-the-back goal as an exclamation point.

This will be Penn State's third trip to the national semifinal. The Nittany Lions have never played in the national title game.

They'll match up with No. 1 Cornell in the final four on Saturday in Foxboro, Massachusetts. After a win like this one, who's to say they can't go further?

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