March 7, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 19 Penn State women's lacrosse team (1-2) dropped a hard fought and highly competitive 13-7 decision to No. 2 Virginia (4-1) on Friday night in Holuba Hall. The game was a tale of two halves, as the Nittany Lions battled the ACC favorite Cavaliers to a 6-6 first period draw but could not duplicate that effort in the second half and fell for the first time at home this season.
Junior midfielder Kerry Shea (Baltimore, Md.) and sophomore attacker Theresa Bucci (Hudson, Ohio) led Penn State in scoring, tallying two goals each. Senior Kim Kontson (Davidsonville, Md.) dished out two assists, giving her a team-high four on the year.
The Nittany Lion attack caught fire quickly, scoring three goals before Virginia could even gain possession of the ball. Sophomore Mary LeNoir (Timonium, Md.) added to her team-leading goal total just over 30 seconds in the game to give Penn State the advantage. She netted her fifth of the year when she used an ankle-breaking move to get past a Cavalier defender and rocket a shot to the back of the net. Two goals by Kerry Shea gave the Lions a three-goal cushion four and a half minutes into the contest.
Virginia responded by scoring four straight goals, including two by Brittany Kalkstein, over the next nine minutes to secure its first lead of the game. The Lions and Cavaliers would then trade goals over for the half's final 11 minutes minutes. However, with time dwindling down sophomore Amanda Longobucco (Sea Cliff, N.Y.) subbed in and found herself wide open on the wing on the half's final possession. After Kim Kontson hit her with a pass, she knifed to the net and put a shot in the upper right corner for her third goal of the season. Longobucco and the Lions went to the break with confidence and a hard earned 6-6 tie.
Penn State controlled play much of the first half, outshooting Virginia 18-10 and earning a 7-5 advantage in ground balls.
The second half told a much different story, as the Virginia offense heated up while its defense solved the PSU attack. The Nittany Lions mustered just one second period score, a Theresa Bucci goal with 6:53 remaining in the game, while the Cavaliers netted seven, including three by Blair Weymouth.
Senior goalkeeper Jess Boccio (Northport, N.Y.) had a solid game, recording a career-high 10 saves, including seven in the second half, against a barrage of 25 Virginia shots.
The Nittany Lions return to action on Sunday when they host William & Mary (2-3) in a 1 p.m. game at Holuba Hall. Penn State has historically had success against William & Mary, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, as it boasts a 20-7-1 all-time record versus the Tribe. In 2007, behind a career-high five goals from midfielder Kerry Shea (Baltimore, Md.), the Nittany Lions defeated William & Mary, 12-4, in Williamsburg.