After struggling to find their attack last week, the Penn women's lacrosse team came out strong against Columbia with a 14-4 win. But questions still remain as to whether they can beat a top 25 team.
The Quakers (6-4, 2-1 Ivy) will get another chance when they face 18th-ranked Penn State tomorrow at Franklin Field. The Nittany Lions are the last top 25 team the Quakers beat when they defeated PSU 13-9 in State College, Pa., last year.
Although the Quakers would love to have the injured sophomore Emily Cochran back on the field, the loss of their leading scorer has actually forced Penn's offense to stick to their gameplan and be more disciplined in shot selection.
"Against Columbia we were running the plays really well." Freshman attacker Chrissy Muller said. "There was not one single focal point of of offense, the unit as a whole was the threat."
Muller herself proved quite a threat as she notched three goals and three assists for a career-high six points.
Junior Kate Spofford was also invaluable against Columbia as she netted a game-high five goals in the Quakers' 14-4 romp over the Lions (5-4, 0-3).
However, the key for the Quakers against Penn State will be their composure and intensity.
"We need to come out strong and get the lead. That is when we play our best," Penn coach Karin Brower said. "We are pretty confident going in, but we need to see if we can maintain the composure of our attack."
Composure has been a problem for the young Penn team all season. With a lead the Red and Blue's play has been excellent. However, when tied or trailing by a few goals their shot selection becomes poor and their attack breaks down.
So far this year, the Quakers have scored 12 fewer goals in the second half than in the first half. In the second stanza, their opponents are outshooting the Quakers by 23.
"We played really well in the first half against [13th-ranked] Johns Hopkins." Muller said. "But in the second half we tried to run too many fast breaks and never got our attack set up. But against Columbia we relied on our gameplan and we should do the same against Penn State."
This season, Penn State's play has been erratic. While they have not had any wins over top-25 teams, they have lost to three of them by one point each. The Nittany Lions will be looking to get their season back on track tomorrow as well as avenge last season's loss to the Quakers.
If the Quakers are to beat the athletic Nittany Lions, then they will need to keep the pressure on with their attack.
"We need to maintain our composure against Penn State," Muller said. "Our attack needs to finish better and put the ball in the back of the net. We also need to get back on defense and put pressure on the ball carrier in the midfield."
At the beginning of the season Coach Brower listed making the NCAA Tournament as one of her goals. With defending National Champion Princeton undefeated in the league, Penn must play well against their region to secure an at-large berth in the field of 16. Defeating 18th-ranked Penn State tomorrow could be the first step for the Quakers toward their first tournament berth since 1984.
PENN 14, Columbia 4
First half -- 1, 29:05, Ryan (P); 2, 26:30, Spofford (P); 3, 22:09, Muller (P); 4, 19:42, Cassidy (P); 5, 15:58, Moll (C); 6, 14:00, Shelley (P); 7, 10:27, Spofford 2 (P); 8, 9:04, Spofford 3 (P); 9, 0:30, Thomas (P).
Second half -- 10, 28:07, Muller 2 (P); 11, 24:40, Spofford 4 (P); 12, 23:08, Warner (C); 13, 22:16, Thomas 2 (P); 14, 20:20, Spofford 5 (P); 15, 16:41, Muller 3 (P); 16, 13:39, Lombard (C); 17, 4:06, Cassidy 2 (P); 18, 1:30, Lombard 2 (C).
