DeLucas put on sister act

When the Penn women’s lacrosse team takes on Brown at Franklin Field Sunday, senior co-captain Ali DeLuca’s mother, father and younger sister Katie will be there to honor her as they partake in senior night festivities.

Katie, however, will be sporting a Brown uniform.

Following in the footsteps of the eldest DeLuca sister, Krystina — who graduated from Brown in 2009 — Katie, a freshman, decided to pursue a collegiate lacrosse career with the Bears. And Ali, who is used to the interleague sibling rivalry by now, is ready to take her on.

“Brown always plays up against us, especially because it’s a sister rivalry,” she said. “Whether it’s my older sister, or younger sister, they always end up playing well.”

But in order to clinch their fifth-straight outright Ivy League title, DeLuca and the Quakers (11-3, 6-0 Ivy) will have to play their own game. Both Penn and Dartmouth have earned their share of the title, but a win over Brown will give the seniors on the squad the ring for their fourth and final season, as well as give the Quakers the top seed in the Ivy tournament.

“We want a trophy. We want a fourth ring,” senior co-captain Emma Spiro said. “We’re not going to let anyone stand in the way of that.”

Ranked seventh in the conference, Brown (7-6, 2-4) may not have the momentum to hinder the Quakers’ competitive edge. The Bears have dropped their last two matches by a single goal. The last of these losses came with just 11 seconds remaining in a triple-overtime thriller again Boston College.

In order to get the win, however, the Quakers will have to overcome the Bears’ unique backer style of defense. This defensive strategy, which is not very susceptible to Penn’s attacking plays, has left Brown with an average of 8.54 turnovers forced per game and will require the Quakers to be patient around the arc.

“We’re going to shoot for a lot of ball movement and be patient on attack because this type of defense clogs up the middle a lot,” head coach Karin Brower Corbett said.

In addition, draw controls will be key — and perhaps an advantage — for the Quakers. Penn has outdrawn its opponents 146-133, while Brown has been unable to gain the upper hand in possession this season.

DeLuca leads the Quakers in draw controls with 29 and will surely be counted upon to step up on the circle.

In addition to fighting for the title, DeLuca, Spiro and the rest of the senior class will be honored in a pre-game ritual in which their junior teammates will speak about their contributions to the team.

“They’ve had a wonderful career here and we hope it’s not over any time soon,” Corbett said. “I think its special for them to be honored for all that they’ve done, but I will be sad to see it end.”

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