Princeton destroys host W. Lax

The fourth-ranked Tigers dropped Penn 17-3 as the Quakers finished their 1999 home season winless. The Penn women's lacrosse team hadn't done two things all season. One was win at home on Franklin Field. The other was having every player on the field play with intensity for an entire game. One out of two ain't bad. Although the Quakers lost last night at home to No. 4 Princeton, 17-3, Penn's coaches and players were pleased by the fact that the team fought hard the entire game. "You're not going to find many teams that are going to work hard when they're losing 17-3 and I think it's something that this team did," Penn acting head coach Alanna Wren said. "I've never felt good losing, but if I can walk off the field this positive after a 17-3 defeat, I know my team gave their best effort." With the loss, the Quakers' record drops to 1-11 and 1-5 in Ivy League play. As this contest was Penn's final one at home, the defeat means that the team went winless at Franklin Field for the entire season. Princeton, conversely, upped its record to a commanding 11-3; at 5-0, the Tigers are tied with Dartmouth for the best record in the league. The difference in the teams' records and abilities was evident from the opening whistle. The Tigers opened with an intense attack, netting seven goals in the first 14 minutes of the game. Penn's defense, however, was able to shut down the Princeton attack for the second part of the first half. Although it took the Quakers until the 26:17 mark in the first half to score their first goal, the strong defense gave Penn reason to be encouraged going into the second stanza. "Our defense really clicked today," Penn co-captain Jenni Leisman said. "We've really worked hard on dropping and sliding, which seemed to hold them, especially at the end of the first half." Unfortunately for the Red and Blue, Princeton turned it back on, scoring a goal in the first minute of the second half and extending its lead to 9-1 before Penn responded with a goal of its own. But Princeton would score the next six before the Quakers added their third and final goal. The one bright aspect of Penn's offense was the fact that two freshmen scored the goals. Traci Marabella netted one while Jennifer Hartman had the other two. "We probably could have attacked more," Penn co-captain Brooke Jenkins said. "We should have taken more shots and been more confident on the offensive side." On the other hand, Princeton coach Chris Sailer was happy with all parts of the Tigers' game. "We had good transition in both halves," she said. "We were able to use our speed and get some good transition goals and that really turned the tide. We played at a good pace and a high level of intensity the whole game." Princeton, now riding a six-game winning streak, faces its biggest tests of the season next week when the team faces Ivy co-leader Dartmouth and Maryland, which is ranked No. 1 in the nation. "We're coming into an important stretch in our season and we knew we needed a good performance today," Sailer said. Up next for the Quakers is their final game of the season, against Ivy rival Brown on Saturday. The Bears (6-5, 3-1) are ranked No. 20, which makes the game Penn's fourth consecutive contest against a ranked opponent. Despite Brown's national recognition, the Quakers feel after tonight's game that they have the confidence to pull off an upset. "If we play with tonight's level of intensity, [if we] are solid in the midfield transition, [if] our defense is on and [if] our attack slows down and controls the game, we have a great chance of winning," Leisman said. The boost in confidence is an extreme change from past games where nothing had gone right on the field for Penn. "Everybody has learned a lot about adversity this season," Wren said."They've come through the trenches though, stayed positive and stuck through it." Wren is not only referring to the Quakers record but also to the off-the-field problems they have had to deal with. Wren has led the team for over a month and a half since the Quakers petitioned for the removal of head coach Anne Sage. In their final game of the season, the Quakers will head to Providence to see if they can truly pull through all the adversity and gain their second victory.

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