BALTIMORE; May 3, 2007 - The No. 18 Penn State women's lacrosse team (9-7) etched its name in the American Lacrosse Conference history book Thursday afternoon by winning the first-ever ALC Tournament game, 9-7, over No. 19 Ohio State (9-7). The victory also gains the Nittany Lions a measure of revenge for the last-second regular season loss it suffered to the Buckeyes on April 20 at Jeffrey Field.

Penn State advances to the semifinal round and will face No. 1 Northwestern on Fri., May 4 at 5:30 p.m. The game will be played at host Johns Hopkins University's Homewood Field in Baltimore. The Nittany Lions' dropped their regular season meeting with the Wildcats, 19-8, in Evanston.

With leading scorer Jessi Lieb (Villanova, Pa.) on the shelf due to injury, junior Kim Kontson (Davidsonville, Md.) stepped to the forefront and contributed four key points. After totaling just two points through the first 14 games of the season, Kontson has recorded seven points in the last two. Coming off a five goal effort versus Johns Hopkins, senior Karen Long (Ellicott City, Md.) had another big game, totaling three scores.

However, player of the game nods should fall to defenders senior Renee Cipro (Ellicott City, Md.) and junior Lindsay Hagemann (Watertown, N.Y.). The duo locked down on Ohio State's top two offensive weapons Kristen Slahor and Jessica Patane, who had combined for 113 points during the season, and held them to just two points total.

A back-and-forth opening half began with Penn State taking a very early 1-0 lead, as senior Lindsay Dutch (Ellicott City, Md.) netted her 23rd goal of the season just over one minute into the game. However, Ohio State took even less time to pull even with the Nittany Lions, scoring only nine seconds later.

A rare occurrence allowed Penn State to regain the lead at the 22:50 mark when Ohio State midfielder Kendall Gysin tried to pick up the ball after a turnover in her own crease but couldn't control it and put it her own net. After the Buckeyes knotted the game again with 14 minutes remaining, Karen Long, with an assist from Dutch, answered back with her 23rd goal of the year.

Ohio State scored the next two goals, tallied by Kelly Haggerty and Amanda Shimp, to claim its first lead of the game. Penn State responded yet again, as Kontson halted the Buckeye scoring streak and brought the game to a 4-4 tie with a goal with 5:54 on the clock.

The Buckeyes would find net one final time in the first half and head to the break with a tenuous 5-4 advantage.

The second half would turn into a game of scoring runs, with Penn State breaking out first. Karen Long and sophomore Kerry Shea (Baltimore, Md.) notched the only goals through the half's first 12-plus minutes, providing Penn State with a 6-5 lead. Ohio State then put together a two-goal scoring run of its own to reclaim the advantage. But from that point on, Penn State would wrest back and maintain control of the game.

Sophomore Laura Lincicome (Berwyn, Pa.) selected an opportune time to score her first collegiate goal when she found net at the 11:18 mark, tying the game at 7-7. Lindsay Dutch assisted on the play, upping her team-high assist total to 18 for the season. Less than one minute later, Karen Long netted the game winner, with Kim Kontson recording the assist. Kontson would add an insurance goal late in the game to seal the Penn State victory.

- - - -

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 19th-ranked Ohio State (9-7, 1-3 American Lacrosse Conference) women's lacrosse team fell, 9-7, to 18th-ranked Penn State (9-7, 0-4) Thursday afternoon in the opening game of the ALC Conference Tournament at Homewood Field on the campus of Johns Hopkins University. The Nittany Lions scored the final three goals to overcome a 7-6 Buckeye lead. Penn State's Karen Long scored three goals and Kim Kontson had two for the Nittany Lions while Amanda Shimp (Jr., Endicott, N.Y.) posted three goals for the Buckeyes.

1 2 3    Next  »

2007-05-03