March 18, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 18 Penn State women's lacrosse team (2-3) will kick off a stretch of three consecutive road contests when it travels to Philadelphia for a 6 p.m. match-up with No. 8 Pennsylvania (4-1) on Wed., March 19 at the home of the Quakers, Franklin Field. For the Nittany Lions, the trip will be their second to Philadelphia this year after meeting Temple in the 2008 season opener, a narrow 8-7 loss.
Last weekend, playing its first game of the season on the newly renovated turf surface of Bigler Field, Penn State gave No. 4 Princeton all it could handle before suffering a rough 7-6 defeat. Sophomore attacker Theresa Bucci (Hudson, Ohio) led the team with two points but six different Nittany Lions netted goals. Senior goalkeeper Jess Boccio (Northport, N.Y.) had a career game, keeping Penn State in the game when its attack faltered. She recorded nine saves against 20 Princeton shots. Boccio currently ranks first in the ALC in save percentage (49.3%) and 18th in the nation in goals against average (8.51).
In its last outing, Pennsylvania used a suffocating defensive effort to gain a 10-4 win over Yale in its Ivy League opener. The Quakers started the season 2-0 by claiming one-goal victories in road match-ups with Drexel (6-5) and North Carolina (8-7). Penn was then dealt its first loss of 2008 on a west coast road swing, falling to Stanford, 10-8, before completing the trip with a 12-7 win over Cal. Seniors Rachel Manson and Melissa Lehman and sophomore Ali DeLuca team to headline the Quaker attack. They have combined for 25 goals and nine assists. IWLCA First Team All-Americans Hilary Renna and goalkeeper Sarah Waxman lead the Penn defense. Waxman boasts a 6.60 goals against average and a 47.6% save percentage.
Penn State will be looking to avenge its toughest loss of the 2007 season, a 16-5 setback at Jeffrey Field in early April, when it takes to the field versus the Quakers on Sunday. That defeat was just the Nittany Lions' fourth in 13 all-time meetings with Penn. The Lions are 2-3 versus the Quakers under head coach Suzanne Isidor.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Pennsylvania intrastate battle on the Internet with live stats and instant scoring updates. Click on the "gametrack PSU" link on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com, to gain access.
The Nittany Lions will journey outside of the state of Pennsylvania for the first time in 2008 this weekend when they head south to Nashville, Tenn. for their ALC opener versus No. 20 Vanderbilt on Sun., March 23. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET at the Commodores' home field, the Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex.