W. Lax | Who needs a second half?

The Penn women's lacrosse team controlled every aspect of its game at Columbia - in the first half, that is.

Despite a second half dominated by its unranked Ivy League opponent, the No. 2 Quakers pulled out a 16-11 victory over the Lions Friday afternoon in New York.

The Quakers (8-0, 3-0 Ivy) took 20 shots on goal in the first half. Some of those shots occurred on the fast break, which was a central part of the Red and Blue's gameplan due to their speed advantage over Columbia (5-3, 0-1).

"[It] was really nice to have some fast break goals," junior Ali DeLuca said. "We were really pushing the fast break today."

With an effective fast break, the Quakers entered the half leading 13-3.

But that 10-goal margin shrunk in the second half. Coach Karin Brower made some substitutions and 10 players off the bench got playing time.

Then the Columbia offense broke away. Penn was called for only six fouls in the first 30 minutes, but committed 14 in the second half. As a result, the Lions earned eight free position shots in the second half, converting on four of them.

"We weren't adjusting to how the officials were officiating and we need to do a better job of that," Brower said of Penn's second half play. "We didn't play a very good team 'D.'"

The Lions also dominated time of possession in the second half. Columbia won seven draw controls, compared to the Quakers' five, and managed to take 16 shots on goal versus Penn's seven.

"[In] the first half we definitely dominated draw controls," DeLuca said. "In the second half . Columbia gained a little bit of confidence in terms of the draw."

But in the end, the Quakers prevailed thanks to their highest scoring output of the year.

The offensive surge began at center, where junior attack Emma Spiro secured possession for the Red and Blue with six draw controls.

"The draw is just about heart," Spiro said.

With that heart, the Quakers were able to capitalize early and often, making use of good offensive movement around the crease. Because the Lions did not pressure Penn behind the net, there were many opportunities for the well-balanced Quakers attack to net both assisted and unassisted goals alike. Spiro and DeLuca tallied four goals apiece.

Although the team didn't play great overall defense in the second half, it managed to shut out one of Columbia's leading scorers, Holly Glynn, who has more than 20 goals on the season.

Columbia's Brittany Shannon, however - who has also scored more than 20 goals - capitalized on her free possession shots. She netted three goals, two of which came from the eight-meter arc.

Both teams used two goalies in the game. Emily Szelest and Emily Leitner defended the cage for Penn, saving four shots and one shot, respectively. The Lions' Emma Mintz and Karlee Blank split equal time in goal. Mintz, despite her strong athleticism, allowed all 13 Penn first-half goals, while Blank fared better after the break, giving up the remaining three.

"I would say that our team as a whole wasn't what's its been this season," Spiro said. "We definitely have to keep working on that for our next game."

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