PHILADELPHIA--The No. 4 Penn women's lacrosse team scored five goals in each half to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. Duke, who defeated Virginia Sunday, will travel to Philadelphia, May 16 to face Penn, again at Drexel's Vidas Field.

The Quakers got on the board early with a goal from Ali DeLuca three minutes into the contest. The junior had a solid game for Penn with two goals, two assists, four caused turnovers and three ground balls.

Though Penn drew first blood, Fairfield struck back with two quick goals to hold a 2-1 lead. With just less than 15 minutes to play, senior Becca Edwards scored to tie it up. Nearing the six-minute mark, junior Emma Spiro converted on an eight-meter opportunity and reclaimed the lead for Penn.

Ivy League Rookie of the Year Erin Brennan and DeLuca closed out the scoring in the half, giving the Quakers a 5-2 advantage at the half.

After the break, Edwards stung the Stags with her second goal just two minutes into the half. Fairfield cut its deficit back to within two with 17:47 left to play.

The Quakers outscored the Stags 4-2 over the next 15 minutes and held a 10-6 lead with six minutes to go, but Fairfield would not go quietly. In the final six minutes, the Stags aggressively sought the goal and were rewarded with two free position goals.

However, it was the Quakers' Emily Szelest's crucial save on another attempt that gave Penn possession and the mental momentum to hold off the Stags in the final 1:30. The junior made six saves in the game. Her Fairfield counterpart Lauren Chatnik made 11, including eight in the second half, in the game.

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The Fairfield women's lacrosse team, playing in its first-ever NCAA Tournament, mounted a furious rally in the final 10 minutes of play, falling two goals short, 10-8, to #4 Penn at Vidas Field on Sunday. The Stags out scored the Quakers 6-5 in the second half of the game and the eight goals was the fourth-highest single-game total allowed by Penn, who entered the tournament as the top-ranked defense in the nation.

The Quakers, 14-2, built their largest lead of the game, 8-4, with 9:57 to play in the game, when Fairfield began its comeback. Abbey Goodwin score on a free position shot with 9:08 to play. Penn pushed the lead back to four, 9-5 with 7:20 to play, and the Stags cut it back to three with an unassisted goal from Brittany Bare 25 seconds later.

Penn scored its final goal with 6:15 to play and the Stags put the pressure on the final minutes of the game. Rebecca White scored on a free position shot with 3:13 to play and Kim Fuchs got the Stags to within two goals, 10-8, with a free position tally with 81 seconds to play.

Lauren Chatnik made 11 saves, eight in the second half, in net for the Stags, while also picking up three ground balls. White finished the game with three goals, netting all three shots she put on net. Brittany Bare had two goals, while Goodwin, Fuchs and Kristen Coleman each scored once.

Kelly Barnes equaled Chatnik for a team-high three ground balls as well as winning two draw controls. Erin Rigby had three draw controls and dished out an assist, while Kylee Martin added an assist, ground ball and a draw control.

2009-05-10