When the Penn women's lacrosse team stepped onto the field at the Rutgers Stadium Complex in Piscataway, N.J., on Sunday, the Quakers knew a spot in the NCAA Tournament was now nothing more than a dream -- the reality was that they were entering the game with a .500 record.
Penn had nothing to lose.
And with nothing to lose, the Quakers dominated all 60 minutes of play, handing the Rutgers a 12-6 loss.
No. 20 Penn (8-7, 4-3 Ivy) took control of the game early on, capitalizing on a relentless offensive campaign throughout the first half. Sophomore Karen Jann opened the game's scoring with a goal less than one minute into regulation. Junior Emily Cochran and sophomore Chrissy Muller each added a goal to bring Penn's lead to three.
It took the Scarlet Knights (6-10) almost ten minutes to break through Penn's defense. They finally ended their silence with a goal just after the 20 minute mark and another point seven minutes later.
But these goals just seemed to invigorate the Quakers' offense. Before the end of the half, senior Katie Spofford would add three goals and freshmen Rachael Manson and Allison Ambrozy would each contribute one. Thanks to the offensive outburst, Penn headed into the second half with a 9-3 lead.
"Our attack worked really hard to get the ball back and to score the goals early and get us that 9-3 lead going into the second half," coach Karin Brower said. The first half "was probably the best half we've had all year."
The Quakers continued to dominate throughout the second half, refusing to end the season with anything but a quality win. Muller added two more goals and junior Ali Ryan contributed one of her own.
The final moments ticked away leaving the Quakers with a 12-6 win to wrap up a season filled with both accomplishment and disappointment.
"It was a great game for the seniors to end on," Brower said. "Of course we are disappointed -- we wanted to make the Tournament. But it is definitely always nice to end on a win like this. We took great strides this year. ... We dropped games to Villanova, BC, Lafayette -- all games that we won easily last year.
"But we had a tough schedule ... one of the toughest in the nation, I think."
As the 2005 season draws to a close, Brower eagerly anticipates the years to come, especially with a talented group of rising underclassmen.
"Sarah Waxman started in the cage and did a great job," Brower said. "Allison Ambrozy, Rachael Manson had fantastic seasons scoring lots of goals for us. Karen Jann scored today, she has started to feel more comfortable on offense. ... It looks good for the future."
