PROVIDENCE, RI - The Brown women's lacrosse team (4-9, 1-4) used solid team defense to limit #3 Penn (13-1, 7-0) to 12 goals, including just three in the first half, but the Quakers outscored the Bears by eight to earn a 12-4 win and the outright Ivy League title. Senior Lindsey Glennon (Exeter, NH) provided most of the offense for Brown with three goals, while freshman Molly McCarthy (Scituate, MA) added a goal and an assist.

After nearly seven minutes of scoreless action, Penn got on the board at 23:39 when Melissa Lehman scored her first of two goals. Emma Spiro and Rachel Manson scored at 20:38 and 13:29, respectively, to give the Quakers a 3-0 lead. The two teams then played scoreless lacrosse for the remainder of the half with both sides coming up with big defensive stops.

After the break, Penn wasted little time in increasing its lead as four different Quakers scored in the opening 6:49 to stretch Penn's lead to 7-0.

Glennon got Brown on the board at 21:09, finishing a great transition run by freshman Kiki Manners (North Potomac, MD). After another Penn goal made the score 8-1 at 18:27, McCarthy found Glennon in the middle for Brown's second goal. The Quakers answered again, but Manners connected with Glennon at 9:30 to bring Brown with within 9-3.

Penn outscored Brown, 3-1, the rest of the way for the 12-4 final with McCarthy scoring Brown's final goal. Junior goalie Melissa King (Pepper Pike, OH) made five saves in net, while Kyrstina DeLuca (Hillsborough, NJ) and Lauren Vitkus (Skaneateles, NY) each caused two turnovers for Brown.

The Bears' defense was also able to stop Penn's top scorer, Ali DeLuca, younger sister of Brown's Krystina, who was held off the scoreboard for the first time this season.

Brown continues action on Saturday, April 28th, when it travels to Princeton, NJ to take on the Tigers at 3:00 p.m.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – No. 3 Penn won its first-ever outright Ivy League championship Saturday, beating Brown, 12-4, at Stevenson Field. The Quakers (13-1, 7-0 Ivy) complete a perfect Ivy season with the win over the Bears (4-9, 1-4 Ivy). Penn broke the program record for wins in a season and has now won a program-record 10 in a row.

The victory didn't come easily for Penn, who overcame a slow first half with three goals in the first five minutes of the second. Both teams seemed sluggish in the first, perhaps as a result of the warm weather, but combined for 12 goals in the second half.

Penn dominated the game offensively, ripping off 29 shots to Brown's 13. The Quakers had 10 different goalscorers.

Despite holding the Bears scoreless in the first half, the Quakers had an unfulfilling period, carrying a 3-0 lead into the break. Melissa Lehman scored first seven minutes into the game and Emma Spiro converted Chelsea Kocis' free position pass three minutes later. After a lull, Rachel Manson took a feed from Muller to make it 3-0 with 13:29 to go.

The Quakers weren't without their chances to score in the first half – Allison Ambrozy hit the pipe on her first shot of the game and Becca Edwards had a goal disallowed on a crease violation.

The start of the second, however, was a whole other ballgame as Penn rushed out with a 4-0 run. Brown finally got on the board nine minutes into the half, and the two sides traded goals from there on out, but the outcome was never in doubt as the Quakers cleared the bench.

Sarah Waxman and Emily Szelest split time in goal, with Waxman picking up her 13th win. Szelest, despite playing only 9:30, was outstanding, making three saves and allowing a goal in that span to preserve the game.

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2007-04-21