Senior Shannon Mangini scores first goal since 2013 as Quakers' bounce back

715 is an iconic number in sports.

The figure is noteworthy primarily because of its connotation with Major League Baseball. In 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, surpassing Babe Ruth’s record for long balls in a career.

This weekend at Franklin Field, however, 715 took on a different meaning for Penn women’s lacrosse. That’s how many days it had been since senior midfielder Shannon Mangini had scored for the Quakers.

Until Saturday, that is.

With just under nine minutes remaining in the first half of No. 11 Penn’s matchup with Yale, the 2013 Ivy League Midfielder of the Year – who missed the 2014 season due to an ACL tear – rang home a shot past Elis’ goalkeeper Erin Mullins for her first score since May 3, 2013. The goal put the Quakers ahead by two midway through the opening period as Penn rebounded from a midweek loss against No. 10 Princeton with a 13-7 win over the Bulldogs.

The win allowed the Red and Blue (11-3, 5-1 Ivy) to secure a spot in the Ivy League Tournament that begins in two weeks. Although Penn’s loss on Wednesday — coupled with Princeton’s win over Columbia on Saturday — eliminates it from capturing the tournament’s top seed and serving as hosts, the Quakers can still clinch a share of their ninth straight Ancient Eight title with a win over Cornell next weekend and a Tigers’ loss.

Against Yale (7-7, 2-4), senior midfielder Lindsey Smith got the scoring underway after slightly more than eight minutes had gone by off an assist from junior Catherine Dickinson. After the Bulldogs’ Maggie Pizzo knotted the score at one apiece, Cathryn Avallone put the Elis ahead for the only time in the game off an unassisted goal with 19:27 remaining.

From that point forward, the Quakers managed to surge ahead with a streak of three consecutive goals over the course of seven minutes. After Dickinson scored off a feed from junior Nina Corcoran, the latter added an unassisted goal with 12:31 to play in the half before setting up Mangini for her emotional score.

After the Garden City, N.Y., native and unanimous 2013 first team All-Ivy selection scored, she immediately dropped her stick and sped to the sideline to hug her teammates and coaches.

The celebration didn’t last long for Penn, as Yale cut into the Quakers’ deficit with an unassisted goal from Keri Fleishhacker less than two minutes later. Although the Elis threatened throughout the rest of the half, senior attack Tory Bensen scored on a free position shot with 6:34 left before the break to push the lead back to two.

Bensen continued the Red and Blue’s fireworks right after halftime with an unassisted goal less than a minute into the period. Her two scores bookending the break were part of a 6-1 Penn scoring run that expanded the Quakers’ lead from one to six in the span of 23 minutes of action.

Key to Penn’s surge were two unassisted scores from junior midfielder Lely DeSimone, and another Bensen goal. The squads traded the final six goals of the contest, with Dickinson scoring her second of the day with 98 seconds left to give the Quakers their 13th and final goal of the afternoon.

With the win, Penn is locked into either the second or third seed in the Ivy League Tournament. After their matchup on Saturday, the Quakers and Big Red are guaranteed to face each other for a second consecutive meeting in the tournament, with the winner of the first contest receiving the No. 2 seed.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.