W. Lax wins third in a row with flair

The Quakers cruised past visiting La Salle last night at Franklin Field. This one was over almost as soon as it began. The Penn women's lacrosse team scored on its first two shots and put home 12 first-half goals en route to a 18-6 thrashing of La Salle (1-7) last night at Franklin Field. The victory was the Quakers' (5-2) third straight and gave the team an extra measure of self-assuredness heading into a tougher Ivy League slate in the upcoming weeks. "It was very good for our confidence to score that easily on our fast break, and it was real nice that everybody played tonight," Penn coach Karin Brower said. "That was kind of the goal -- we knew that we could beat La Salle, and I was hoping we could do it relatively easily. "All of the games from now on are a lot tougher, so it's nice to have this win now. It helps with our confidence and with team camaraderie." Quakers freshman attacker Kate Murray opened the scoring 90 seconds in with a fast-break goal courtesy of a pass from junior Annie Henderson. One minute later, the duo hooked up again to make it 2-0, and Henderson followed shortly thereafter with a goal of her own to give the home team a quick three-goal lead. "Those first goals were just off of fast breaks, which really worked well tonight," Henderson said. "Towards the end, Karin really wanted us to settle down and set up our plays, but in the beginning most of the goals were just coming in from the top." La Salle coach Jenn Harpel called a timeout after Penn's third goal to settle her team, and the move paid immediate dividends. Following a defensive sequence that saw the Quakers pick up three fouls and a yellow card, Explorers midfielder Mary Quinlan found the net to cut the Penn lead to 3-1. "Going in, we knew that Penn had good speed, and we tried to adjust to that. But our kids just got planted a little bit too soon on defense and couldn't make the adjustment," Harpel said. "But the thing that hurt us was that 10-minute period where they pretty much had a goal run." Seconds after the La Salle goal, the floodgates opened. Traci Marabella netted two scores, Brooke Jenkins chipped in a pair, and Murray, Henderson, Jayme Munnelly and Alison Polk-Williams all found the net as Penn tallied eight goals in an 11-minute span. When the barrage finally subsided, the score was 11-2, the Explorers were on their second goaltender, the Quakers were on their second string and the outcome was all but decided. La Salle, in its third season as a varsity program, got four goals from sophomore Jami Wilus, who was the focal point of its attack. But the Explorers struggled to match the speed and the aggressive defense of Penn. "We definitely have a lot of speed, especially with the freshmen. And with their speed, and the settling abilities of Brooke [Jenkins] and -- I like to think -- myself, we're able to strike up a good balance," Henderson said. "This was the game where we really wanted to come out and explode offensively early on, and I think we were taking advantage of what we had." With the considerable halftime lead, Brower used this opportunity to give all of her players game experience. Penn's freshmen responded, as Lindsay Smith and Abigail Franchot each recorded their first collegiate goals. Smith tallied a hat trick, including a field hockey-esque slapshot for her first collegiate score. "The first one, at first I thought it was a trashy goal, but I guess it was a good one," Smith said. "It was very satisfying to be able to get into the game and to help the team out. This is the second game I've gotten in, and it shows me and proves to me why I play lacrosse and why I actually go to all practices and work." Freshman Dalton Cox contributed a goal and three assists, and Emily Foote, a Daily Pennsylvanian sports reporter, finished off the Quakers scoring. Penn goalie Christian Stover made six saves in a half of work, and Alaina Harper and Melissa Rantz held La Salle to three second-half goals. Knowing the tough Ivy slate that awaits the Quakers, Brower scheduled this game in an attempt to help her squad bolster its confidence and to "learn how to win." With a 30-to-21 edge in ground balls and a 28-to-17 edge in shots, Penn can consider those goals achieved. "It was a great win because it was a complete team effort," Smith said. "I think everything was really in control. We were doing the fundamentals really well."

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