Another slow start spoils W. Lax's game at Brown

The Penn women's lacrosse team entered Stevenson Field last Saturday with the aspirations of knocking off 12th-ranked Brown (4-4, 2-2 Ivy League). Unlike last year's success against the Bears, the Quakers fell a few goals shy in a 13-10 loss. Penn (3-5, 2-3) started the game in the slow fashion they have exhibited all season. The first 12 minutes of play were dominated by waves of Brown attackers. The Bears jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and established the tone for the game. The Quakers finally responded to Brown's ferocious attack when junior midfielder Emily Hansel scored the first goal for the Red and Blue. However, there was little time for celebration, as Brown attacker Allison Rosenthal scored her second goal with another assist coming from Allison Schettini. The Allison combination for the Bears combined for eight points between them, with Schettini leading the way scoring a game-high five assists. The half ended with Penn and Brown trading goals back and forth and settling at 7-3. The Bears dominated the play of the first half by getting to the majority of the ground balls and destroying the Quakers with their number of shots on goal. The key for the season thus far has been the Quakers' ability to start and play the second half much stronger than the first. And indeed, they did just that. Senior tri-captain Amy Tarr scored two minutes into the half and it looked as though Penn was ready to raise its level of play. However, the next minutes of play progressed with the Quakers and Bears trading off goals similarly as the first half ended. One Penn player in particular raised her level of play during the trading of goals, unleashing a scoring ability that has not been seen all year. Last year, attacker Jaime Schemberg was second in goals for the Quakers, and while she has played solidly all year, she had yet to unleash her potential to score a lot and often. After Tarr's goal, Schemberg rattled off the next three goals for Penn and managed to keep the Quakers competitive at 10-7. Penn, however, was unable to pull any closer than three. The Bears, led by Schettini, scored the next two goals of the game and pulled away for good. Penn mounted an attack near the end of the game, but the lead for the Bears had grown insurmountable. While Penn outscored Brown in the second half, the Bears' consistent pressure in the attack zone was too great a problem for the Quakers. Brown overwhelmingly outshot Penn 38-18, and even the strong play of goalkeeper Sue Back could not compensate for Penn's inability to take more shots. The lack of shots were a primary result of losing the battle over ground balls, 37-11. The Bears consistently turned the acquisition of loose balls into scoring opportunities to squash the Penn team. However, Penn made the adjustments for the second half, and if they had not had a sluggish start, then they might have defeated another ranked opponent.