April 29, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 18 Penn State women's lacrosse team (8-6) will finish out its 2010 regular season schedule on Saturday when it hosts in-state, non-conference opponent Temple (7-9) in a 3 p.m. Senior Day match-up at Jeffrey Field.
Six seniors, Theresa Bucci (Hudson, Ohio), Stephanie Ellis (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), Margo Josephs (Reisterstown, Md.), Marisa Lozano (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Erica Mihm (Annapolis, Md.), and Maria Valderas (Catonsville, Md.) will play their final home regular season game in a Penn State uniform when they take the field versus the Owls. A special ceremony to honor their careers and contributions will precede the contest.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a tough 12-7 loss to Johns Hopkins suffered last weekend in University Park. Sophomore midfielder Theresa Zichelli (Severna Park, Md.) led the Penn State offense, notching her first hat trick of the season, while Theresa Bucci scored two goals and assisted on another. Bucci tops the team in goals with 28 and in points with 34. Penn State had a decisive 16-6 advantage in draw controls, including outdrawing the Blue Jays by a 9-1 margin in the first half, but could not capitalize on its chances and had troubles cracking the Johns Hopkins defense.
With one weekend remaining in conference play and with its league slate complete, Penn State will await its ALC Championship seeding fate pending the outcome of the Northwestern-Florida and Johns Hopkins-Ohio State match-ups. The Nittany Lions could be as low as the No. 4 seed and as high as the No. 6 seed and will play either Florida, Johns Hopkins, or Ohio State in the first round. Northwestern will serve as the No. 1 seed while Vanderbilt has clinched the No. 2 seed.
Temple enters Saturday's contest saddled by a two-game losing streak after dropping a 15-13 decision to Richmond in opening round action of the Atlantic-10 Tournament on April 23 and a 17-9 home loss to Towson on Thursday afternoon. Senior midfielder Chelsea Rosiek is the centerpiece of the Owls' offense, leading the team in goals (25), assists (29), points (54), and draw controls (55). Stephanie Markunas (21g, 10a), who played for Penn State in 2009, and Melissa Schweitzer (21g, 5a) are also prominent sources of points for Temple.
Penn State holds a 15-13 all-time record versus Temple but fell to the Owls, 8-7, in the teams' last meeting in the 2008 season opener in Philadelphia. The Nittany Lions cruised to a 17-5 victory over Temple in its last visit to University Park, in March of 2007.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Temple contest with live stats and instant scoring updates from GameTracker or with a live video webcast from Jeffrey Field. Find links on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
The postseason begins for the Nittany Lions next week when they travel to Columbus, Ohio and the host campus of The Ohio State University for the 2010 ALC Championship. Play begins on Thurs., May 6 when the No. 4 seed meets the No. 5 seed (3 p.m.) and the No. 3 seed faces the No. 6 seed (5:30 p.m.). Semifinal action is scheduled for Fri., May 7 and will feature top-seeded Northwestern taking on the 4-5 seed winner (3 p.m.) and No. 2 seed Vanderbilt clashing with the 3-6 seed victor. The ALC Championship title contest will take place on Sat., May 8 at 2 p.m. All games will be played at the home of the Buckeyes, Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.