The No. 18 women's lacrosse team didn't get a chance to lay out on sunny beaches, but it did improve its record to 4-1 over spring break.
Playing three games during break, the Quakers first faced Ohio State, then No. 1 Northwestern and No. 16 Towson. Penn beat OSU 14-10, then dropped its first game of the season by a score of 17-8 to Northwestern. The team quickly regained its footing, though, beating Towson 10-6 to close out the break.
Against the Buckeyes, the Quakers started off strong, taking a 4-0 lead in the first six minutes of play before falling behind 5-4. They rallied back in the second half, however, to take the four-point victory.
"We have talent, we just need to start closing off games," Coach Karin Brower said of Penn's performance.
Senior Ali Ryan, who was named Ivy League Player of the Week before spring break, scored four goals that game. Along with sophomore Rachel Manson, Ryan leads the team in scoring with 10 goals on the season.
In the next game, playing on their home field wasn't an advantage; the Quakers were handed their first loss by No. 1 Northwestern, 17-8.
"We played a little scared and had a lot of turnovers," Brower said.
The Red and Blue were lagging the whole game; at half-time, Penn faced a 2-8 deficit and never caught up.
Penn had 21 turnovers to Northwestern's 10. The Wildcats also held the shooting edge, 32-19, though both teams divided the draw controls almost evenly.
The Quakers turned things around Sunday at Towson, staying on top the whole game to win 10-6.
The Quakers will play the second game of their four-game road stint tomorrow at Delaware.
