UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 20, 2007 - On the strength of a potent first half scoring attack and a stellar second half defensive effort, the No. 6 Penn State women's lacrosse team overpowered Temple, 17-5, Tuesday evening in Holuba Hall. The victory raised the Nittany Lions' record to 6-1, marking its best start to a season since 1993. The Owls failed to extend their two-game winning streak and fell to 2-4 on the year.

Any concerns about whether Penn State would rest on its laurels after its upset win over Princeton last weekend were erased quickly when the Lions jumped on top early. Eight minutes into the game, Penn State had built a 2-0 advantage thanks to goals from senior Karen Long (Ellicott City, Md.) and sophomore Marisa Lozano (Pittsburgh, Pa.). After Temple cracked the scoreboard at the 21:23 mark, the Lions went on a 5-0 run over the next five minutes, getting two more goals from Long and one each from sophomore Kerry Shea (Baltimore, Md.) and senior Lindsay Dutch (Ellicott City, Md.).

Penn State and Temple traded goals for the final 15 minutes of the first half, but the Lions went to the break with what would, over the game's final 30 minutes, prove to be an insurmountable 11-5 lead.

The second half belonged to the Penn State defense, as it held Temple scoreless and to just five total shots. Aggressive play and constant pressure by the Nittany Lions played a part in 11 second-half Owl turnovers.

The attack was unrelenting as well in the second half, netting six more goals. Junior Jessi Lieb (Villanova, Pa.) started the scoring off with her 13th goal of the season and sophomore Aly Carter (Summit, N.J.) ended it with her first goal of the year and second of her career. In between, Mariel Bryan (Folsom, Pa.) tallied two and Mary LeNoir (Timonium, Md.) and Amanda Longobucco (Sea Cliff, N.Y.) each notched one.

Lindsay Dutch's six-point performance headlined the Penn State attack. Kerry Shea added four points, off of three goals and one assist, and Karen Long contributed a hat trick.

Senior Renee Cipro (Ellicott City, Md.) showed the defensive form that earned her ALC Player of the Week honors, totaling four draw controls, three caused turnovers, and two ground balls. Senior goalkeeper Cammie Jurkowsky registered six saves, three in each half, to notch her sixth win of the season.

The Nittany Lions will wrap up their week-long, two-game home stand on Sun., March 25 when they take on their first ALC opponent of the season, No. 18 Vanderbilt (4-3). The crucial intraconference contest will be played at its originally scheduled time of 12 p.m. in Holuba Hall. A year ago, Penn State got a late goal from then-freshman to edge Vanderbilt, 9-8, in Nashville, Tenn. in its season opener.

Score by Period       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Temple..............  5  0 -  5
Penn State.......... 11  6 - 17
 
Temple SCORING:
GOALS: Frengs, Allison 2; Rosiek, Chelsea 2; Cech, Casey 1.
ASSISTS: Capaldo, Johna 1; Frengs, Allison 1.
 
Penn State SCORING:
GOALS: Dutch, Lindsay 3; Shea, Kerry 3; Long, Karen 3; LeNoir, Mary 2;
       Bryan, Mariel 2; Lozano, Marisa 1; Lieb, Jessi 1; Longobucco,
       Amanda 1; Carter, Aly 1.
ASSISTS: Dutch, Lindsay 3; Lozano, Marisa 2; Bucci, Theresa 1; Lieb,
         Jessi 1; Shea, Kerry 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1 2   Tot
-------------------------------
Temple.............. 10  5 - 15
Penn State.......... 16 15 - 31
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD  1  2  Tot
------------------------------
Temple.............. 8  8 - 16
Penn State.......... 7 10 - 17
 
DRAW CONTROLS BY PRD  1 2  Tot
------------------------------
Temple..............  8 5 - 13
Penn State..........  9 2 - 11
 
FREE-POSITION SHOTS   1   2  Total
----------------------------------
Temple.............. 3-3 0-1 - 3-4
Penn State.......... 2-2 0-3 - 2-5
 
SAVES BY PERIOD      1  2  Tot
------------------------------
Temple.............. 0  6 - 6
Penn State.......... 3  3 - 6
 
FOULS BY PERIOD      1  2  Tot
------------------------------
Temple.............. 7  8 - 15
Penn State.......... 9  5 - 14
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD     1  2  Tot
------------------------------
Temple.............. 6 11 - 17
Penn State.......... 5  5 - 10

2007-03-21