March 23, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 18 Penn State women's lacrosse team (2-5, 0-1) came up short in its bid to claim victory in its American Lacrosse Conference opener, falling to No. 20 Vanderbilt (7-3, 1-0), 10-7, on Sunday afternoon on the road in Nashville, Tenn.
Junior Kerry Shea (Baltimore, Md.), sophomore Theresa Bucci (Hudson, Ohio), and Jen Steadman (Sykesville, Md.) led the Nittany Lions with two goals each. Senior Kim Kontson (Davidsonville, Md.) tallied her team-leading seventh assist in the loss.
Vanderbilt built a 4-3 advantage through the first half and added to that lead in the second period, outscoring Penn State, 6-4.
Senior goalkeeper Jess Boccio (Northport, N.Y.) went the distance for Penn State, recording six saves.
Penn State outshot Vanderbilt for the game, 23-22, and had a 7-5 advantage in caused turnovers, with sophomore Margo Josephs (Reisterstown, Md.) recording a team-high three. Sophomore Maria Valderas (Catonsville, Md.) and freshman Laura Lesnick (Jarrettsville, Md.) led the Nittany Lions with two ground balls each.
The Nittany Lions will wrap up their three-game road stretch on Fri., March 28 when they travel to Newark, Del. to take on Delaware (3-2) in a 3 p.m. contest. In its 2007 season opener, on the strength of a nine-point effort from Lindsay Dutch, Penn State outgunned the Blue Hens, 15-10, at Holuba Hall. The Lions are 22-6 all-time versus Delaware and have won five of the last seven meetings. Penn State returns home on Sun., March 30 to host Loyola (Md.) (3-6) in a 1 p.m. game that will be played at either Bigler Field or Holuba Hall, depending on the weather.