April 6, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 18 Penn State women's lacrosse team (6-4) will play its final road non-conference game of the 2010 season on Wednesday when it travels to eastern Pennsylvania to take on Lehigh (9-2) in a 7:30 p.m. match-up at the Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem.
Penn State will look to rebound from a 13-11 loss suffered to ALC newcomer Florida in Gainesville last weekend. A slow start to each half hurt the Nittany Lions but a late rally, which included three goals in the final 59 seconds, nearly brought them all the way back into the game. Leading the offense was senior Erica Mihm (Annapolis, Md.), who notched three goals, and freshman Hayley Sofarnos (Williamstown, Australia), who netted her first career hat trick, becoming the eighth Nittany Lion this season to record three or more goals in a game. Senior Theresa Bucci (Hudson, Ohio) made a successful return to the line-up, scoring two goals, after missing the two previous contests with a broken nose.
Lehigh snapped a two-game losing skid in its last outing, knocking off Canisius, 16-5, in Buffalo. After defeating UC-Davis on March 23, the Mountain Hawks equaled their best start in school history (8-0) but subsequent losses to American (17-16) and Marist (8-6) ended that run. The Lehigh attack boasts four players with 21 or more goals, headed by Lauren Dykstra's 33. The junior midfielder is also tied for the team lead in ground balls with 30 and ranks third in draw controls (20). Sophomore Kelly Draper tops LU with 11 assists. Sophomore Leigh Ann Torcivia headlines the defense, leading the team in draw controls (28) and caused turnovers (11).
Penn State has won all 18 of their prior meetings with the Mountain Hawks, including last season's 14-10 victory in University Park. The Nittany Lions are 60-2 all-time versus Patriot League opponents, claiming decisive wins over Bucknell (15-2), Colgate (17-7), and Lafayette (19-5) earlier this season.
Fans can follow all of the Penn State women's lacrosse action on Wednesday evening with a live video broadcast of the event free of charge, courtesy of Lehighsports.com. Find a link on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
The Nittany Lions return home this weekend, hosting five-time reigning national champion and No. 1-ranked Northwestern (9-0, 1-0 ALC) in a noon contest on Sun., April 11 at Jeffrey Field. A year ago, Penn State fell to the Wildcats in the regular season (17-6) and in the ALC Championship game (13-3). The Lions last defeated NU in 2003, a 12-7 decision in Evanston.