Waxman the nation's best . again

It may not be the national championship she coveted, but women's lacrosse goalie Sarah Waxman will take this award just the same.

For the second consecutive season, Waxman was named the C. Markland Kelly Goalie of the Year by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association. She is the only Penn player ever to win the award, and now she has two to her name.

The award caps an outstanding career for the Washington, D.C. native. In her two seasons as the primary netminder for the Quakers, the team made the Final Four both years, losing in the semifinals in the 2007 campaign and in the finals this year. Both defeats were to Northwestern, now the four-time defending national champions.

Waxman, a captain on this year's squad, also led the Quakers to their first two Ivy League championships since 1982, their first-ever No. 1 ranking in the national polls and their first victory at Princeton in over twenty years.

Earning the honors again may not have come as much of a surprise. In many ways, she bested last year's award-winning performance. Her 6.28 goals-against average was the best in the nation this year and bettered last year's 6.51.

While in goal for the Red and Blue, Waxman helped define the Quakers' gameplay as one defined by defense and low-scoring affairs. Despite ranking 60th in scoring offense, the Quakers ended the season ranked No. 2 in the nation, thanks almost entirely to having the best scoring defense..

In her 37 games in goal over the past two years, she only let in double digit goals six times. By contrast, in the two seasons before that opponents found the back of the net that often in 14 separate games.

Perhaps most remarkable for Waxman was her penchant for having big games at all the right times.

In the national semifinals against Duke this year, she allowed her team to come back from a three-goal deficit by holding Duke scoreless for seventeen minutes towards the end of the game. The Quakers would punch their ticket to the national championship in overtime, 9-8.

And perhaps her finest performance came in the regular season against Northwestern. After conceding seven goals in the first half, Waxman and the Penn defense held the potent Wildcats offense scoreless for the entire second half, a feat accomplished by no other team throughout Northwestern's recent success.

And this is only one more among Waxman's many individual honors. She was named an IWLCA All-American the past two years and was honored as the Ivy League Player of the Year this season.

The onus for following in Waxman's wake likely falls on Emily Szelest. The incoming junior has played only 160 minutes in goal and has yet to make a start.

The award, given to the best goalies in each divison of men's and women's lacrosse is named for a former standout goalie at Maryland who perished as a fighter pilot in the Battle of Midway during World War II.

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