W. Lax beats Drexel, 16-6

Maintaining concentration from beginning to end is the key to success in any sport. Had the Penn women's lacrosse team been capable of playing hard every minute of every game, the Quakers may have met with the same success as yesterday. In its final road contest of the season, Penn whipped neighboring Drexel, making it a perfect 3-0 in intracity games. The 16-6 Penn drubbing of the Dragons gave the Quakers (8-5) a two-game winning streak and demonstrated the rewards of hard work and team play. "The girls have been working hard all season," Penn coach Anne Sage said. "It's been paying off the past couple of games. The teamwork has been fantastic." Though the offense clicked, the real star of the game for the Quakers was junior goaltender Alexis Seth. Seth's clutch goaltending in the early going -- she stopped several point-blank shots in the first few moments -- enabled the Quakers to take control of the game. "The only real standout for us today was Alexis," senior captain Missy Hecht said. "But the team effort overall was fantastic." The Quakers came in off an 11-5 pistol-whipping of Ivy-rival Brown and hoped to continue their solid play against Drexel. The key was execution on offense and tenacious defense. "We have been passing the ball around very well on offense recently," Sage said. "The offense has been very patient, and the defense really just took control of the game." Because the schedule has been so demanding lately, with four consecutive road games, the players had become fatigued. Sage rested some of her stars and afforded playing time to some of the second stringers who had not been given the opportunity to contribute. The tactic worked, and the eager youngsters jumped ahead early, and never relented. In addition to the contribution of the inexperienced players, the young guns -- sophomore midfielder Jessica Gilhorn and sophomore attackers Alanna Wren and Amy Shapiro -- continued their dominance. "It was nice that everyone got a chance to play today," Hecht said. "Everyone contributed. Some of the people that haven't played that much got into the scoring, and some of the people that have scored all season long scored today, too." The Quakers will defend the friendly confines of Franklin Field tomorrow in the last game of the season. In the meantime, they will work on their offensive plays and ponder the possibility of a berth in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament. As the 14th-ranked team in the nation, Penn will probably be invited to participate, but Sage plans to leave it up to her players. "The tournament should help us continue to grow and develop," Sage said. "But there comes a time when the players have had enough lacrosse. They're very intense for their finals, and if they've had enough, maybe we won't go." But before they make that decision, the Quakers can relish the sweet taste of victory -- and their dominance in the Philadelphia area -- which comes from a two-game winning streak. Of course, they would not be tasting success if they did not last 60 minutes.