Another tournament run by the Penn women’s lacrosse team fell short last weekend — this time a little earlier than usual.
For the first time in three seasons, the Quakers were unable to advance to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. Eighth-seeded Penn dropped its quarterfinals match with one-seeded Maryland by a score of 15-10 Saturday in College Park, Md.
The Terrapins (20-1) handed the Quakers one of their three regular season losses, April 2 at Franklin Field, 12-6. And though the Quakers had faced the top-ranked team before, they were unable to make the necessary adjustments to best the Terps, who boast seven scoring threats according to Penn coach Karin Brower Corbett.
Corbett acknowledged that her team struggled defensively Saturday, as they could not fend off the Terps’ versatile offense. Maryland attackers Sarah Mollison and Caitlyn McFadden netted five goals apiece, while teammate Karri Ellen Johnson was close behind with four.
“Our defense wasn’t what it usually is,” said senior midfield and Tewaaraton Trophy finalist Ali DeLuca. “They’re a great team, and I’m not taking anything away from them, but we were not our best today.”
Offensively, however, the Quakers (15-4) were near the top of their game. DeLuca scored three goals and tallied three assists, which earned her six points on the day. Those six points brought the senior captain up to 73 points in 2009-10, breaking a school record for most points in a season that had remained untouched since 1981.
Fellow senior captain Emma Spiro netted four goals of her own, tying her career high.
“We really struggled on attack stagnant-wise [in the last game],” Corbett said. “I’m proud of the attack [this time around].”
In fact, the Quakers answered almost every Maryland goal with one of their own. In addition, Maryland and Penn took a near-equal amount of shots on goal, with 23 and 22, respectively.
But after the Red and Blue cut their deficit to three with nine minutes remaining, the Terps proved why they were the number-one seed in the tournament, going on a three-goal run from the 8:18 mark to the 6:20 mark. With that, Maryland sealed its victory and advanced to its second consecutive Final Four.
The Quakers now say goodbye to eight seniors, including Spiro, DeLuca — the program’s all-time leading scorer with 148 goals — and goalkeeper Emily Szelest. The class, the winningest in program history, finished with four Ivy titles and eight tournament victories.
“We showed heart,” Corbett said. “I’m really proud of my seniors for all that they’ve accomplished at their time of Penn. Especially Ali—how she plays with so much heart all the time and can put the team on her shoulders.”
