Williamsburg - Penn State's Kerry Shea scored five goals, and the Nittany Lions used a strong defensive effort to defeat William and Mary, 12-4, Sunday afternoon at Albert-Daly Field.

Karen Long added a pair of goals and Cammie Jurkowsky recorded six saves in goal for Penn State (4-1), which snapped a three-game losing streak in the series.

Jaime Sellers (Kennebunk, Maine/Kennebunk) paced W&M (1-3) with two goals, and Jamie Fitzgerald (Jenkintown, Pa./Jenkintown) and Emily Vitrano (Cockeysville, Md./Maryvale) each scored for the Tribe, which dropped its second-straight.

During the opening five minutes, it looked as if the big crowd on hand on a gorgeous sunny day would be treated to a back-and-forth bout. Tribe goalkeeper Sara Beckstead (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's) made one of her eight saves, and Jurkowsky turned away the first shot she faced, while the teams struggled to maintain possession in between, combining for three turnovers.

The Nittany Lions eventually broke through with the game's first goal, as Mary LeNoir found the net on an assist by Lindsay Dutch. A Tribe turnover led to Shea's first goal, just over two minutes later, and a 2-0 Penn State lead.

It wouldn't take the Tribe long to answer, though, as Clare Dennis (Catonsville, Md./Catonsville) gained possession off the draw to set up an unassisted Fitzgerald goal at the 22:40 mark of the first half. But, once again, turnovers were a problem for W&M Sunday, as two more miscues led to back-to-back Penn State goals.

LeNoir caused a turnover to give the Lions possession, and after Beckstead made one stop, Dutch put Penn State up 3-1. Vitrano corralled one of five-first half draw controls for the Tribe on the restart, but an errant pass gave it right back to Penn State. Beckstead once again came through with a clutch stop, but Shea found the net for the second time with 18:09 remaining in the first to make it 4-1.

W&M returned the favor when Abigail Caso (Phoenix, Md./McDonogh) caused a turnover and picked up a ground ball, leading to Seller's first goal on an assist from Kristen Wong (Richmond, Va./Trinity Epsicopal) at the 14:13 mark. Two saves by Jurkowsky, and another by Beckstead, and solid defense by both squads kept the margin at 4-2 for the next 12 minutes, before Mariel Bryan converted an eight-meter shot with just 2:04 left before the break to increase Penn State's advantage to 5-2.

In nearly the blink of an eye, though, W&M responded, as Vitrano snagged the ensuing draw control and sprinted to goal, covering half the field in just eight seconds and slipping a shot past Jurkowsky to trim the deficit to 5-3. But, Dutch corralled the key draw after Vitrano's goal, and after a patient offensive possession, Shea completed a first-half hat trick with just 27 seconds on the clock. Penn State would take the 6-3 lead into intermission after Jurkosky denied a Sellers' attempt at goal in the closing seconds of the period.

The final period belonged to the Nittany Lions' defense, as Penn State caused six of the Tribe's 11 turnovers in the half and limited the home team to just six shots. Renee Cipro spearheaded the effort with two caused turnovers and four ground balls, and Jurkowsky stopped two of the Tribe's six shots in allowing only one second-half goal.

Shea's fourth goal extended the Penn State lead to 7-3, and Maria Valderas made it 8-3 with 23:01 remaining. Beckstead kept the Tribe within striking distance with another save, but the team's clearing attempt failed and eventually led to Long's marker at the 20:46 mark, bringing the margin to 9-3.

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2007-03-11