W. Lax and keeper are in a zone

Hosting Harvard, Penn and goalie Christian Stover aim for their fourth consecutive win. At the midpoint of its season, the Penn women's lacrosse team heads into Sunday's 1 p.m. Franklin Field match against Harvard with a three-game winning streak and a burgeoning sense of confidence. Goal production and team morale are both up considerably for the Quakers from this point a year ago, but it may just be the one thing that is on a downswing that is most responsible for Penn's (5-2, 1-2) success -- the number of goals allowed. Junior goaltender Christian Stover is the last line of defense for the Quakers, and the three-year starter has done an admirable job this spring. After posting a 13.52 goals-against-average in 1999, Stover has worked this figure down to an 8.71 average through seven games. "There's been a huge change defensively. I think Christian has done a great job, and I think Carey Sebastian, our goalie coach, has done a tremendous job with her," Penn coach Karin Brower said. "Christian understands now how to come out for the ball, and is always moving forward, which you need to do as a goalie. "She has improved so much -- not only since the fall, but since we started in February." Not one to take sole credit for her improved goal average, Stover mentioned a more coordinated, more aggressive team defense and an intense fall practice slate as reasons for her higher level of success in the cage. "I would say the entire defense is responsible for the change," Stover said. "I still think that my goals-against-average should go down, and that is because of my mistakes. But I think the reason why it has gone down so much is because of how we're playing as a unit more and helping each other out. When a girl comes in, we close on her so she can't get a shot off." Hard work and long hours are nothing new to the junior from Rowayton, Conn., who can be found spending her time in the fourth-floor studios of Meyerson Hall, feverishly working on projects for her Design of the Environment class. It is not unusual for Stover to spend upwards of five hours a day in the confines of Meyerson, leaving only for other classes, lacrosse practice and the occasional bout with sleep. But as the old adage says, that which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. "I think it's a toss-up between lacrosse and DOE for which takes up the most time," Stover said. "When I leave my house, everyone is always like, 'Where are you going, are you going to practice?' And I'm like, 'No, not today, it's our day off'; and they say, 'Oh, so studio then?'. "It's always one or the other, it's never anything else." A potential conflict for the Penn netminder may arise in three weeks when the two most important interests in her life collide head-on. Stover's final critique for her Architecture class gets underway just 90 minutes before the Quakers' game at Temple -- possibly leading her to arrive just minutes before gametime. Stover stepped into the limelight at Penn midway through her freshman year against this same Owls squad. The Quakers lost to No. 6 Temple, 13-4, in that game, but Stover rebounded to post two wins that season. "I think definitely my first game against Temple, when they were top-10 in the nation at that point, was one of the most exciting games. I just went in there and played, and had a blast," Stover said, also mentioning games against high school teammates now on Notre Dame and Dartmouth as collegiate highlights. Whether it's late nights in the studio, running in the snow in the winter or practicing with the other Quakers goalies, Stover is always hard at work. And easily scared, too. "The goalies play racquetball for hand-eye coordination, and a couple of days ago we were playing and I hit one off the wall and it skimmed right by her head," Penn senior goalie Melissa Rantz recounted. "She started screaming the highest high-pitch squeal you have ever heard. And she freaked out and was shaking the rest of the day and couldn't do anything. "But that doesn't happen on the field. It's the helmet thing -- it's like our guard, so when she's got her helmet on, she's fine." This spring, despite dividing her energies between class projects and dodging shots whizzing by her head, Stover has shown great focus. The junior's save percentage stands at 61 percent, up from 48 percent last spring. Against Harvard, Stover will be coming up against a familiar face -- Crimson keeper Keltie Donelan, a former high school teammate. "Keltie and I split time freshman year, and she definitely helped me out a lot when I was starting out," Stover said. "Last year she played in the game against us, and I really wanted to beat Harvard and to play better than she did. It's always fun when you have someone that you know on the other side -- you just kind of want to show them what you can do." Harvard fell, 12-2, to No. 11 Boston University on Wednesday, allowing 11 consecutive goals to end the game. Donelan saw 20 minutes of action to close the game, allowing four goals. This could be a fortuitous sign for Penn's leading scorers Traci Marabella (17 goals), Brooke Jenkins (15 goals) and Crissy Book (11 goals). The Crimson will be countering on offense with juniors Alli Harper and Lauren Corkery. Corkery scored two goals in the Crimson's 11-5 victory over Penn last year. "[Harper and Corkery] both have the ability to get in to get the shot off, and they're just tough competitors," Harvard coach Carole Kleinfelder said. "I think you're looking at a very different Penn team from last year, so I expect the game to be much tighter."

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