W. Lax | When once isn't enough

Singing, laughing and a customary Gatorade dousing of coaches marked the end of the Penn women's lacrosse team's Ivy League season.

The Quakers coasted past Brown Saturday, 12-5, to collect their second consecutive Ivy title.

But before Coach Karin Brower's clothes could even dry, the Quakers (12-1, 7-0) had their sights set on revenge and the Division I championship.

"We're so pumped that [Northwestern is] still undefeated, we want to be their only loss of the season," senior attack Rachel Manson said.

The defending national-champion Wildcats beat Penn in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.

Despite losing, the Bears (5-8, 2-4) didn't lay down for the Red and Blue. In a move that exemplified Brown's effort, one exhausted player fell flat on her face in a final desperate reach to win a draw control as the game's closing whistle blew.

The score teeter-tottered in the opening half, as the Quakers came out lackadaisical.

"After a big win on Wednesday [against Princeton], it's hard to play up to that level the next game," Brower said.

Senior Rachel Manson put Penn on the board first. But five minutes later, Brown fired back, scoring from a free position shot.

Emma Spiro regained the lead for Penn at 17:59, but 30 seconds later Brown's Krystina DeLuca (sister of Penn midfielder Ali) took a free position shot to tie the score.

Not to be outdone by her sibling, Ali DeLuca took on two defenders, netting Penn a 3-2 lead.

But after a botched pass from Brown's Kara Kelly rolled into Penn's net, tying the game at three-all, the Quakers' perfect Ivy League record was suddenly in jeopardy.

Brower immediately called a timeout to re-group.

"We knew we had to come up with the draws and we did," Manson said. "After that we went on a five-goal run."

That five-goal run put the score at 8-3 going into halftime and the Quakers never looked back.

Senior attack Melissa Lehman tacked on Penn's 12th and final goal with just three seconds remaining. Brower still wasn't satisfied.

"I was hoping for a bigger score to send more kids in," Brower said. "Shooting wasn't very good and we didn't finish."

Despite their fumblings in the early goings, the Quakers were excited about their accomplishment. But Brower won't let them bask in their glory for long.

"There's going to be a lot of preparation for Northwestern," Brower said.

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