Exacting revenge on the undefeated No. 1 team in the nation might be rewarding enough, but after doing that Sunday, the women's lacrosse team got an extra prize yesterday morning.
In the newest Inside Lacrosse Women's Media Poll, the Quakers (13-1, 7-0 Ivy) garnered 193 points, good enough for their first-ever No. 1 national ranking.
"We're very excited to have the No. 1 ranking," coach Karin Brower said through an Athletics department spokesman. "I think it shows the program's growth in the last few seasons. It is great to see the foundation that previous teams have built be rewarded by the way the current team has brought it all together."
After beating then-15-0 Northwestern, 11-7, at Franklin Field - ending the Wildcats' 36-game winning streak - the Quakers moved up from the No. 5 spot. Northwestern dropped to second, but not by much. The Wildcats earned 192 points, yet they had five first-place votes to Penn's four. Northwestern previously had been No. 1 for 17 straight weeks.
In last week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association poll, the Quakers were ranked No. 4. The IWLCA rankings will be updated today.
"We're looking forward to what the coaches' poll will have," Brower said. "More than anything, we're looking to finish strong with Temple on Saturday, and then we'll begin preparing for NCAAs."
Freshman steps up. Through her first 14 games as a Division-I player, freshman Giulia Giordano has notched 15 goals and eight assists.
But of those 23 points, the last five came at just the right time.
Playing in the biggest game of her short career, Giordano had a hat trick and two assists against Northwestern Sunday. The five points were a career high.
Included in those three goals was the Quakers' opening tally, scored at 21:53, and the Red and Blue's go-ahead goal with 26:29 left in the game. She also assisted on the tying goal, picked up a ground ball and forced a turnover.
So how did a freshman have such a huge game against the most dominant team of the last five years?
"Their record and their win streak, I put them out of my head," she said.
Ancient Eight officials took notice of Giordano's play. Yesterday she was awarded the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, her first such honor.
Penn goalkeeper Sarah Waxman won Defensive Player of the Week, as Penn swept the league awards for the second straight week.
