Coming into Saturday's Women's Lacrosse NCAA quarterfinal against Boston University, sophomore Emma Spiro had a modest 14 goals and two assists in 16 games.
So while she has contributed to the Quakers' offense this year, she's rarely been the player of the game.
But against the Terriers, Spiro was just that, scoring two key goals as the No. 2 Quakers advanced to their second-consecutive Final Four by beating BU 8-5 at Drexel's Vidas Field.
The Quakers (16-1) will face Duke Friday at 8:30 p.m. in Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium, as the Blue Devils upset No. 3 Maryland 9-7. No. 1 Northwestern and No. 5 Syracuse will meet in the other national semifinal.
Without Spiro's two goals, it could have been the Terriers (18-3) in the Final Four. With the Quakers only up 4-3 with 24 minutes left in the game, Spiro decided to take matters into her own hands. Running around the top of the crease, she rocketed a shot past Terriers goalkeeper Rachel Klein, pushing the Penn lead to two.
And just eight minutes later she scored yet again - this time off of a free position shot - to clinch the Quakers win.
"My teammates drew a lot of doubles today," Spiro said. "So I got some easy goals."
Even Penn coach Karin Brower couldn't help but crack a smile while talking about Spiro.
"Hopefully this game will help her confidence going into next week," Brower said.
The goals from the Wellesley, Mass., native were a big help for the Quakers, who were only able to score eight goals on 30 shots.
"When our top scorers aren't getting it in the net, we look at others," senior goalkeeper Sarah Waxman said. "Emma is the kind of the player on our team that is under the radar. I'm so proud of her."
But Spiro wasn't the only player to be proud of. Waxman herself had a great game, improving her nation-leading goals against average to 5.97. And senior attack Rachel Manson tickled the twine twice, increasing her team-leading point total to 52.
BU, meanwhile, saw its season end to Penn in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. Despite this, the Terriers did not see the losses as related.
"I don't see it as losing to Penn twice," Klein said. "We're a completely different team [than last year]. It's not about who you lose to."
Regardless, this year's game started just like last year's 11-5 Penn victory. In both games current-senior Lauren Morton opened the scoring for BU in the 24th minute. And just like last year, only 10 minutes later the Quakers earned the lead for good.
BU coach Liz Robertshaw called it a "fun game to watch," but admitted the Terriers' lack of follow through doomed them.
"I'm known for harping on details and execution," she said. "And from the midfield to the defense, execution is what fell short today. We had some great looks at cage, but they just didn't go in. We caused some turnovers in the midfield, but unfortunately a very aggressive Penn midfield got them right back. That's what a good team does. I tip my hat to Penn."
Penn now will go to only its second Final Four ever, as last year's run to the national semifinals was the first time that feat has occurred in program history.
"It's the greatest feeling ever," Waxman said of returning to the Final Four. "Last year was seriously an amazing experience for anyone involved in Penn lacrosse. Now we're back. We know we should be here. We're confident."
However, unlike last year when they ran into No. 1 seed Northwestern in the Final Four, this time the Quakers will get a Duke team that is unseeded and had the second-worst regular-season record of any tournament team.
Yet Brower isn't underrating the Blue Devils, who have accomplished the frustrating feat of losing in the Final Four the last three years
"They're an ACC team; they're good," she said. "They're consistently getting the best recruits. But I'd love to see an Ivy team beat an ACC team."
Come Friday night, she'll get a chance to do just that.
