Early scoring sets tone in upset win

It hung tough with national power Johns Hopkins and steamrolled Columbia, but the No. 20 Penn women's lacrosse team knew the real test was going to come against No. 13 Penn State at Franklin Field.

The Quakers passed with flying colors.

Penn got out in front early last night and never trailed, taking down the Nittany Lions 8-6.

The way they did it was not surprising. The Quakers (7-4, 2-1 Ivy) did what they do best to down their in-state rivals by winning the possession game and keeping the ball out of their opponents' hands. Despite a late Nittany Lions goal to pull within two, Penn was able to play keep-away for the final two minutes and seal the win.

The Quakers also won the draw control battle and outshot Penn State (5-6) by 10.

But these might not have been the major factors in the victory.

"I think heart was the key to the game today," freshman attacker Becca Edwards said. Edwards scored a pair of goals, including a short scoop-in of a loose ball that quelled a Nittany Lions rally.

"It's something that our team really has a lot of, and when we play with it it really makes a big difference," she said.

The Quakers needed this to beat the athletic Nittany Lions, who made the NCAA Tournament last year.

And from the beginning, it was clear Penn wasn't intimidated by Penn State's speed and strength.

Coach Karin Brower says she believes this played a role in the Quakers' control of the game.

"I think a lot of it was taking the field confidently, you know, believing they could beat this team," Brower said. "This was do-or-die for each team. ... I was just proud of my team to come out and take it," she said.

Penn's effort was even-handed, with the defense and the attack complementing each other and picking one another up. Junior defender Karen Jann led the defensive push with three ground ball pickups and three forced turnovers, while senior Karrie Moore was solid in goal with six saves.

Senior attacker Ali Ryan paced the offense with a pair of goals, moving into a tie for the team lead.

"It needed to be a total team effort," Ryan said. "We couldn't have just one end of the field doing what it needed to do -- we needed both ends doing it."

Still, Ryan noted that one aspect of their game had some room for improvement: shooting. With a 33.3 shooting percentage, the Quakers could have been more efficient on the attack.

But with the team playing the way it has been, Brower believes it has a realistic shot to run the table in April, which would put it in a position to win the Ivy title and an NCAA Tournament bid.

For now, the Quakers say they are taking it one game at a time.

"We're taking steps in the right direction," Edwards said. "Right now we're on a roll, and we'd like to keep it going."

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