April 25, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's lacrosse team (4-10, 0-3 ALC) will wrap up conference and regular season play on Sat., April 26 when it hosts Johns Hopkins (6-8, 0-2 ALC) in a 1 p.m. contest at Jeffrey Field on Senior Day.
Six seniors, Jess Boccio (Northport, N.Y.), Christina Buttle (Northport, N.Y.), Lindsay Hagemann (Watertown, N.Y.), Kim Kontson (Davidsonville, Md.), Jessi Lieb (Villanova, Pa.), and Linsey Shea (Baltimore, Md.), will play their final home regular season game in a Penn State uniform when they take the field versus the Blue Jays. A special ceremony to honor their careers and contributions will precede the contest.
Penn State is coming off a weekend of action in which it finished with a 1-1 record. On Fri., April 18, PSU trounced first-year program Cincinnati, 19-4, at Jeffrey Field. A total of 13 Nittany Lions scored goals, led by three from midfielder Jessi Lieb. Penn State outshot the Bearcats 44-8 for the game. Two days later, the Lions suffered a stinging 17-12 defeat against conference opponent Ohio State in Columbus. Junior attacker Marisa Lozano (Pittsburgh, Pa.) headlined the Penn State offense, netting five goals, giving her 14 in the last six games.
In its last outing, Johns Hopkins almost accomplished the same feat that Penn State nearly achieved earlier this month - upsetting No. 1 ranked Northwestern. Fueled by Kadie Stamper's career high five goals, the Blue Jays gave the Wildcats all they could handle before falling, 14-12, in Evanston. Like Penn State, Johns Hopkins has played a daunting schedule in 2008, facing the likes of Princeton, Georgetown, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The Blue Jay attack boasts four 20-plus goal scorers in Sam Schrum (23), Kirby Houck (22), Paige Ibello (22), and Stamper (20). On the defensive end, Julianne Wisner and Lizzie O'Ferrall have split time in goal, amassing GAAs of 9.53 and 10.17 respectively.
With both teams winless in conference play this season, the 2008 edition of the Penn State-Johns Hopkins rivalry will be key in terms of seeding for the upcoming ALC Tournament. In 2007, the Nittany Lions suffered their first ever defeat at the hands of the Blue Jays, a 17-10 loss in Baltimore. Penn State had won the five previous meetings, including a 15-14 nail biter in 2006, JHU's last visit to Jeffrey Field.
Fans can follow all of the Penn State women's lacrosse action versus Johns Hopkins on the Internet with live stats and instant scoring updates. Fans can also follow along with live webcast audio and video from Jeffrey Field. Find links on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
The Nittany Lions will begin postseason play next week when they travel to Evanston, Ill. to take part in the 2008 American Lacrosse Conference Tournament from Fri.-Sun, May 2-4. To be hosted by Northwestern University at Lakeside Field, the top three finishers in the league regular season standings will receive byes while the bottom two will meet in a first round contest on the first day of the tournament. Seeding for all five teams, byes, and the first round match-up will be determined after regular season play is concluded on Sunday.