March 27, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's lacrosse team (2-5, 0-1 ALC) will look to end a three-game losing skid this weekend when it travels to Delaware (5-2, 0-0 CAA) and hosts Loyola (Md.) (3-6, 1-3 BIG EAST) in non-conference action. The Nittany Lions will first visit Newark, Del. to play the Blue Hens on Fri., March 28 in a 3 p.m. contest at Rullo Stadium. Then, on Sun., March 30, Penn State will meet Loyola at Bigler Field in a 1 p.m. game.
In its ALC opener last weekend, Penn State fell to Vanderbilt, 10-7, on the road in Nashville, Tenn. Junior Kerry Shea (Baltimore, Md.), sophomore Theresa Bucci (Hudson, Ohio), and freshman 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.
Delaware enters Friday's game coming off a back-to-back one goal wins over Temple (9-8) and Virginia Tech (8-7). Its other victories this year have come against Rutgers (7-6), St. Bonaventure (16-9), and UMBC (16-8). Spearheading the Blue Hen offense is a trio of double-digit goal scorers in Casey McCrudden (16), Nicole Flego (14), and Katie Muth (10) and team assist leader Emily Schaknowski (10). Jessica Cerveny has started all seven games in net for Delaware, amassing a 10.43 goals against average and 47.8 save percentage.
Penn State has more wins against Delaware, 22, than any other opponent in the program's storied history. Last year, the Nittany Lions outgunned the Blue Hens, 15-10, in their 2007 season opener at Holuba Hall. Lindsay Dutch led PSU with a career-high nine points (5 goals, 4 assists) in the win. Suzanne Isidor-led Penn State teams have taken four of six meetings with Delaware. The Lions last trip to Newark, in 2006, resulted in a narrow 15-14 loss.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Delaware contest 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.
Loyola nearly staged a remarkable comeback in its last outing, a March 22 match-up versus No. 13 Notre Dame, coming from six goals down to pull within two before falling, 13-10. The Greyhounds biggest win of the season came versus Delaware, an 18-11 triumph on March 5. Loyola features a potent attack, scoring nine or more goals in all nine games and averaging more than 19 in its three wins. Freshmen Abby Rehfuss and Grace Gavin lead that high-powered offense, combining for 40 goals and 59 points. The Greyhound defense is allowing nearly 13 goals per game.
Penn State owns a .500 record (11-11) in its all-time series record with Loyola but has dominated the match-ups of late. The Nittany Lions have taken three straight from the Greyhounds by a combined score of 46-22. In 2007, PSU used an offensive explosion, headlined by six goals from Jessi Lieb (Villanova, Pa.), to rout Loyola, 20-7, in Baltimore.
Next weekend, the Nittany Lions will journey south to Tobacco Road to take part in the annual ALC/ACC Challenge. Penn State will take on No. 3 Maryland on Fri., April 4 at 5 p.m. and then will face host No. 7 North Carolina on Sun., April 6 at 2:30 p.m. Both games will be played at Fetzer Field on the UNC campus in Chapel Hill. Last season, as hosts of the challenge, the Nittany Lions went 1-1, upsetting the Tar Heels, 8-7 in double overtime, before narrowly falling to the Terrapins, 10-9.