W.Lax outlasts 'Nova in overtime thriller

After being blown out last weekend in its Ivy League opener against Yale, the Penn women's lacrosse team was looking for a little redemption. It didn't come easily, but the Quakers found it. Penn left Franklin Field yesterday with an 11-6 overtime victory over Villanova. The Quakers' (2-3) offense looked rusty in the opening minutes of the game. Villanova (1-4) controlled the tempo, keeping the Red and Blue on their heels defensively. But with good coverage of the passing lanes, the Quakers forced turnovers and dominated the pace for the remainder of the half. Penn drew first blood when junior attacker Jenny Hartman made a nice spin move past a Villanova defender and scored her seventh goal of the season. The Quakers were never able to build a substantial lead, however, as the Wildcats matched them goal for goal. At the end of the half, the Quakers held a tenuous 3-2 advantage, despite having many more scoring opportunities than Villanova. After the break, the Wildcats came out much more aggressively on defense. "Our defense looked really good today," Villanova coach Shannon O'Neil said. "They were conservative, but they were coming up with the ball without fouling, which really helps us a lot." Villanova junior Cecily Pierce anchored her team's comeback. With excellent stick control, the midfielder was able to weave in and out of Penn's defense with relative ease. Pierce scored three of her four goals in the second half, including the one that gave her team its only lead at 5-4 with 12 minutes remaining. But the Quakers had an answer to Pierce in sophomore attacker Jayme Munnelly, who played her best game all season. "Jayme played heads up, got a lot of ground balls and had some great challenges," Penn coach Karin Brower said. Munnelly scored the next two Penn goals on a nice spin move and a wrap-around, putting her team up, 6-5, with just two minutes left in the game. But just when the Quakers appeared to have the game locked up, a crucial Penn turnover with 55 seconds left put the ball in Pierce's stick once again. The 'Nova midfielder then drove in aggressively toward the net and scored with 39 ticks left on the clock, knotting the game at six apiece. As regulation time expired, the game was still tied. But Brower had complete faith that her team could pull it out in overtime. "I just told them, 'We're a better team than them. We have to go out there, work hard, and win the game,'" Brower said. The coach's words sparked an offensive onslaught. Penn sophomore midfielder Kate Murray scored two goals in a span of 22 seconds to put her team up, 8-6, at the end of the first extra period. After that, the Wildcats pretty much gave up. "We folded," O'Neil said. "They got up one goal, and I think our girls pretty much figured it was over at that point." The Quakers would find the back of the net three more times during the second overtime period. Munnelly quadrupled her season point total yesterday, leading all scorers with six points. Murray also had a stellar performance, scoring four goals and adding one assist.

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