COLLEGE PARK, Md. — “Champions win here.”
The message flashed repeatedly on the big screen looming above the field as No. 12 Penn women’s lacrosse and No. 21 Army warmed up on the turf. Both teams knew what was on the line: win or go home.
“When you have a tough schedule, you’re definitely ready to play in the NCAA Tournament,” Penn coach Karin Corbett said. “Giving them that experience all year made them confident to play at a high level.”
In the first round of the 2025 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championships, the Quakers proved that defense wins championships, dominating the Black Knights 16-6 to advance to the second round.
Experience proved to make all the difference. The game marked Penn’s (11-6, 5-2 Ivy) third consecutive appearance at the NCAA tournament. Penn had made it to the second round in both previous appearances, with the team advancing to the quarter finals last year. And since 2015, the Quakers have played in the tournament a total of eight times. In that same time frame, this game would mark Army’s (13-4, 8-1 Patriot League) second time featuring at the tournament. The last time, the Black Knights bowed out after a loss in the first round.
Coming into the matchup, Penn was well accustomed to playing in high-pressure scenarios. Over half of the teams that the Red and Blue played were ranked, as the Quakers featured in 10 ranked games, going 4-6 across the lot. In those six losses, three were one-score affairs that came down to overtime. Army, on the other hand, had only played in four ranked matches all season, splitting those games 2-2.
As the old adage goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Penn wasted no time putting the ball into the stick of senior and Ivy League Midfielder of the Year Anna Brandt, who opened up the scoring after just over two minutes of play. Sophomore attacker Regan O’Brien would join her on the scoresheet nearly three minutes later. Brandt and O’Brien would each pick up another goal before Army was finally able to sneak a shot beyond Ivy League Rookie of the Year and Ivy League Goalkeeper of the Year Orly Sedransk.
After its initial score, it took the Black Knights over 15 minutes before they managed to score again. They came close, including on a Penn turnover that placed Sedransk in a two-on-one scenario against the Army attackers. However, Sedransk was somehow able to get her stick on the point-blank shot attempt to deny the Black Knights a reprieve from their offensive woes.
“We played so well as a team, and that’s really when we’re at our best,” sophomore attacker Catherine Berkery said. “The defense [was] making incredible stops, and then we were able to push fast breaks, and I would give the [defense] credit for half of our goals, because that’s what gets us the ball. Together, we played really cohesively, and that's when we’re unstoppable.”
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While Army struggled, Penn thrived on the offensive end of the field, with Berkery also adding two goals to her name. In the three-player race to a hat-trick between Berkery, Brandt, and O’Brien, Berkery ultimately prevailed as she put away her third goal of the day with 10 minutes left until halftime. Berkery finished the game with a career-high and game-high five goals. A goal from the Black Knights with 15 seconds left sent both teams to the locker rooms with Penn leading 11-3.
After a first half that saw Army struggle in all facets, the Black Knights came out of the break rejuvenated. Capitalizing on a series of careless plays from Penn, the Black Knights were able to convert for the first score of the second half. However, Sedransk stood strong in the cage, denying the Black Knights on two potential goal-scoring opportunities on back-to-back possessions to eat away some of Army’s momentum. Sedransk finished the game with 14 saves, tying her career high in her first-ever NCAA appearance.
As Penn struggled to get things going on offense to start the second half, being held scoreless for the entirety of the third quarter, the Black Knights went on a 3-0 run to open up play. Goals four and five from Berkery early in the fourth quarter jump-started a 5-0 run for Penn that was more than enough to take the air out of Army’s comeback push.
“Our third quarter wasn’t our best,” Berkery said. “But I think that coming into the fourth quarter, we knew what we needed to do … luckily enough, I found myself open, and my teammates hit me, and I was able to score off of those.”
From there, the Quakers were able to effectively run out the clock to seal the deal, holding the Black Knights scoreless in the final frame.
“I was really pleased with the first half. Third quarter, not so much,” Corbett said. “That was kind of frustrating, but at least we put it together in the fourth quarter. The first half gave us a great lead, and so was happy about that.”
Penn women’s lacrosse will return to the field Sunday at 12 p.m. where it will face off against No. 6 Maryland. The two teams have previously faced off this season, with the Red and Blue coming away with the upper hand in the first game, 13-12. The Quakers will be looking to replicate that success to extend their season deep into May.
“The nice thing is, we’ve seen them before, so we know who they are, who their top players are and what they’re good at,” Corbett said. “And we have the confidence that we can win. But once the game starts, the game starts. And so the little things are going to matter. We can’t make as many mistakes as we did today. We've got to be cleaner, and we've got to take care of the ball, and we’ve got to finish our shots.”
