W. Lax knocks off No. 12 Brown

Quakers attackmanQuakers attackmanAmy Shapiro leadsQuakers attackmanAmy Shapiro leadsPenn with four goals The Penn women's lacrosse team finally accomplished what it has been trying so hard to do all year -- defeat a nationally-ranked Ivy League team. The Quakers (4-4, 3-2 Ivy League) bounced back from consecutive losses against No. 5 Princeton and No. 8 Dartmouth with a 10-8 victory over No. 12 Brown (7-2, 1-2) Saturday afternoon at Franklin Field. "Coming off our back-to-back losses, we were a little worried our morale would be low, but I think it actually gave us more incentive to win," Quakers senior midfielder Jessica Gilhorn said. "It was even better since Brown was ranked and we weren't." Penn senior attacker Amy Shapiro once again led the Quakers in scoring, tallying four goals in the contest. Shapiro is the Quakers' leader in both goals and assists this season. Through eight games, Shapiro has 25 points, including 14 goals and 11 assists. The Red and Blue's second-leading scorer this year, attacker Jamie Schemberg, once again filled that role against Brown. Schemberg scored three times on Saturday, bringing her total to 12 on the season. Penn sophomore midfielder Sue Pierce and senior attacker Alanna Wren had two assists each for the Quakers. The two rank second and third, respectively, for Penn in assists on the season. Saving 14 of Brown's 22 shots on goal, Quakers goalie Alexis Seth raised her save percentage to .506 and lowered her goals-against average to 10.38 this year. Although Penn raised its winning percentage to .500 overall on the season, opponents are still averaging 2.13 goals per game more than the Quakers. Penn jumped on the board first when Shapiro scored an unassisted goal with 28 minutes remaining in the opening half. Just 7 minutes, 15 seconds later, eight goals had already been scored and the game was tied at four. Following a 13 minute scoreless spell by both teams, Shapiro scored twice more to close out the first half, sending the Quakers to the locker room with a two-goal lead. "I thought we were a step behind at the beginning, but that only lasted for about five minutes," Gilhorn said. "After that, we more aggressive for the rest of the game." Penn scored the first two goals of the second half -- only 28 seconds apart. From that point, the Quakers tightened up their defense and cruised the rest of the way for the victory. "The difference between this game and the way we had been playing is that we were finally able to put two good halves together," Gilhorn said. "Everyone was really happy about it, especially the coaches." In general, the Bears' success depends upon the play of midfielder Kerri Whitaker, who is regularly able to use her outstanding speed to dominate opponents. Although Whitaker did score three goals for the Bears, Penn was able to contain Brown's star to some extent, by defending her with sophomore midfielder Emmy Hansel, who is also noted for her blinding lateral velocity. "We knew she was their main threat," Gilhorn said. "Once we knew that she was being contained, it made it easier for the rest of us to play our game." After a midweek meeting with Lafayette on Tuesday, the Quakers will again have an opportunity to defeat a national and Ivy power when they take on No. 9 Yale Saturday in New Haven, Ct. "This may have been our best performance of the year, but it's not the best we can play," Gilhorn said. "We're going to have to be even tougher if we want to beat Yale."