March 28, 2008
NEWARK, Del. - The Penn State women's lacrosse team (2-6, 0-1 ALC) suffered a 13-4 setback to Delaware (6-2, 0-0 CAA) in a non-conference match-up on Friday afternoon at the Blue Hens' Rullo Stadium in Newark, Del. The contest wrapped up a three-game road swing for the Nittany Lions.
The Nittany Lions dug themselves what would prove to be an inescapable hole in the first half. After nearly eight minutes of scoreless play, Delaware claimed a 1-0 lead with a goal at the 22:18 mark. Penn State pulled even less than one minute later on a goal by junior midfielder Kerry Shea (Baltimore, Md.), her 11th of the season. However, the Blue Hens would reel off five straight goals and head into halftime with a 6-1 advantage.
Penn State would fare a bit better on the offensive end in the second half. Freshman midfielder Laura Lesnick (Jarrettsville, Md.) made the game 7-2 with her fourth goal of the year just under three minutes in, but that would be the Nittany Lions' lone goal until late in the game. With 6:32 remaining, sophomore attacker Erica Mihm (Annapolis, Md.), with an assist from senior midfielder Jessi Lieb (Villanova, Pa.), netted PSU's third goal. Lieb would then finish off the scoring for Penn State with 38 seconds left on the clock when she netted her 11th goal of the year off a free position attempt.
Penn State was outshot for the game, 28-20. Twelve of its 20 shots make it on goal but the Lions were just 1-for-7 on free position attempts.
Senior Jess Boccio (Northport, N.Y.) and sophomore Stephanie Ellis (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) split time in goal for the Nittany Lions, logging 30 minutes each. The duo combined for 10 saves.
The Nittany Lions will return home to host Loyola (3-6, 1-3 BIG EAST) on Sun., March 30 in a 1 p.m. match-up at Bigler Field. 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.