March 2, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 18 Penn State women's lacrosse (1-1) team put together a dominating effort on both the offensive and defensive ends in its 2008 home opener on Sunday in Holuba Hall, as it steamrolled Colgate (1-4), 18-3. Ten Nittany Lions netted goals in the victory, including sophomore Mary LeNoir (Timonium, Md.), who led PSU with a career-high four. Penn State has now won three straight versus Colgate by a combined score of 48-10.
While the Penn State offense was in high gear and did more than its share to gain a successful outcome, it was the Nittany Lion defense that fueled the victory, led by its anchor, goalkeeper Jess Boccio (Northport, N.Y.). The senior faced 18 Colgate shots, recording eight saves while allowing just three goals in 42-plus minutes in net. Seniors Linsey Shea (Baltimore, Md.) and Christine Buttle (Northport, N.Y.) and freshman Maggie Dunbar (Cockeysville, Md.) also helped to spearhead the swarming defensive effort. Sophomore Stephanie Ellis (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) was stellar filling in for Boccio in the final 17:16, as she collected five saves without giving up a goal.
Penn State trailed visiting Colgate just once - for the game's first four minutes and 13 seconds. Lindsay Pittard gave the Raiders their only lead of the game, 50 seconds into the contest, when she netted her team high 10th goal of the season. The Nittany Lions answered back over three minutes later, off a goal by Maria Valderas (Catonsville, Md.), and then never looked back. Eight goals later, highlighted by three from Mary LeNoir, and Penn State would head into halftime with an insurmountable 9-1 lead.
The second half started reminiscent of the first as goals by Valderas and LeNoir pushed Penn State's advantage to 11-1. Over the next nine minutes, the Lions and Raiders played to a 2-2 draw with sophomore Erica Mihm (Annapolis, Md.) and senior Jessi Lieb (Villanova, Pa.) accounting for PSU's scores. A 5-0 scoring flurry to the game, marked by two goals each from juniors Amanda Longobucco (Sea Cliff, N.Y.) and Brittany Jensen (Bay Shore, N.Y.), put an exclamation point on the decisive Penn State win.
Next week, the Nittany Lions will welcome No. 2 Virginia (2-0) and William & Mary (2-2) to Happy Valley for a pair of games. On Fri., March 7, Penn State will take on ACC favorite Virginia in a 5 p.m. matchup. The Lions have dropped two straight to the Cavaliers, including a 13-6 loss last year in Charlottesville. Two days later, on Sun., March 9, Penn State will face William & Mary in a 1 p.m. contest. Last season, behind five goals from Kerry Shea, the Nittany Lions downed the Tribe, 12-4, in Williamsburg, Va. Both games will either be held indoors at Holuba Hall or outdoors on the turf of the newly resurfaced Bigler Field, depending on the weather.