Every time the Penn women's lacrosse team moved the ball down field in the first half, it seemed the result was a goal.
In the first period, the Quakers used a 9-6 advantage in draw controls and picked up seven ground balls to keep Temple back on defense during Penn's 15-5 victory over the Owls yesterday.
"Draws are definitely one of the biggest 50-50 balls you can have in a game," said junior Allison Ambrozy, who won a pair yesterday. "It can really set the tone."
And the tone of the first half was up-tempo for Penn (2-0). It took advantage of a sluggish Temple team with a seemingly endless string of 12 goals, interrupted by only two from the Owls (0-1).
Sophomore Becca Edwards completed a hat trick 12 minutes into the game, as Penn reeled off 22 shots to the Owls' three in the first.
"More than not, our trap stopped them before they got to the 30," Penn coach Karin Brower said of her defense. "We slowed them down a lot and made them make a lot of back passes."
A combination of the Penn defense and the anemic Temple offense practically gave Quakers goalkeeper Sarah Waxman the afternoon off. In 52 and a half minutes of play, the junior needed to make only two saves. Brower was also able to use a deep rotation, with many freshmen seeing time on the field.
With 16.9 seconds left in the first, junior Rachel Manson netted her third goal of the day, but wasn't finished yet. Manson drilled another with 1.4 seconds on the clock to close the first with Penn up 12-2. Manson ended the day with a career-high five goals, on only six shots.
"We were going really hard and I was getting some awesome feeds," Manson said. "I was very lucky."
The goals didn't come as easy for the Quakers in the second. Penn won the draw to start the half, but Temple came out aggressively to take possession on a turnover.
The first goal of the half would go the Owls' way as Allison Frengs found the back of the net two minutes in.
Frengs, when she had the opportunity, was Temple's best option on offense. She led the Owls with four shots on goal and ended the day with a hat trick after three hit the back of the net.
The second half was characterized by much more physical play, as three yellow cards were handed out. Penn was only able to add three goals to its tally after the break.
"It's a challenge when you're up by a lot . [to] feel 'ok it's going to be the same, it's going to be easy.'" Brower said.
But the Quakers were able to keep Temple in check and after demolishing Drexel last weekend, now boast wins over two city rivals.
