UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – On the tail end of a long off period, the Penn State women's lacrosse team now turns its attention to the season's final stretch. By the time they face Duquesne Tuesday night, it will have been nine days since the Nittany Lions' last outing.
Penn State comes into this stretch with renewed energy, as the Nittany Lions put together two solid performances in their last two games, a 21-5 rout of Ohio State and a back-and-forth 16-13 defeat at the hands of No. 8 Virginia.
"The past two games, we finally got back to the point where we feel like we're playing like a top team," head coach Missy Doherty said. "Fundamentally executing our shooting, going after ground balls and not turning the ball over. I think we just matured a lot in those last two games."
One of the areas of maturity has been sophomore Alyssa Sloane and the defense, which limited Ohio State to only five goals and Sloane put together a quality performance against Virginia.
"I think just having a good week of practice and doing what we did helped us find our flow," Sloane said. "That Ohio State game definitely helped."
"I think she was challenged with the markup against Virginia, I thought she took some really nice charges and was in a good position all day," Doherty said. "Every game, we need someone to step up, and we really saw that from her in that game. I think it's a really good crew down there with her, Reilly, Hayley, Britt. It's just a good mix of defenders."
The defensive unit had room to grow coming into 2019 as one of the youngest in the country last year, and the Nittany Lions are taking the right steps towards continuing to solidify that side of the ball.
"I think in the beginning, we were really sloppy on our clears, but we've statistically gotten better every single game, so it's nice to see that our hard work is going well," Sloane said. "Last year, we were really young and it was kind of hard to mesh, but this year I feel like we're really clicking and making plays and we all just have that one strong suit and are working really well together."
Sloane's maturity, as a two-year starter, has not only changed the way she looks at the game, but also allowed her to be a better leader for this still young unit.
"Being a freshman, you have no idea what to expect. You're just following your teammates. Now being a sophomore, having a year under my belt, I feel like I can be that leader and just kind of know what's going on," Sloane said. "Confidence has been my biggest improvement, basically not being a shy freshman anymore. Not really caring how old I am and just knowing how to play."
"To be a starting defender as a freshman is always difficult, because a lot of the success is experience-based," Doherty said. "Coming into the sophomore year, it's nice to have her back and reading the defense, being able to be ahead of things and make some big plays."
Now with the break behind them, the Nittany Lions are looking ahead to a busy stretch, with three games coming up in the next eight days. It starts Tuesday with a trip to Duquesne, and then a trip to Johns Hopkins on Friday. A home game with Stony Brook awaits on April 23.
"It's nice to have that rest for your body, but we just have to stay focused and make this run hard back into Big Ten play, trying to make the Big Ten Tournament," Sloane said.
"You never really know if something can be a turning point until the season is over, but I guess that's all you can ask for. Seeing the progress, seeing people step up and knowing we were on a positive path there going into a tough stretch is definitely a good sign," Doherty said.
