UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 12, 2006 - A furious second half comeback by the No. 7 Penn State women's lacrosse team came up just short, as the Nittany Lions were defeated 14-12 by No. 19 William & Mary (3-1) Sunday afternoon in Holuba Hall. The loss was Penn State's second consecutive to a fellow nationally ranked opponent and dropped the Lions to 3-2 on the season.

Down 9-4 at halftime, Penn State immediately embarked on a spirited rally at the outset of the second period. Freshman Kerry Shea (Baltimore, Md.) ignited the comeback, scoring at the 27:20 mark, and sophomore Jessi Lieb (Villanova, Pa.) cut further into the Tribe's lead with a goal with 25:52 showing on the clock. Over the next five minutes, William & Mary would rebound, outscoring Penn State 2-1 to push its lead back to four at 11-7. That's when Shea and Lieb took the game over.

In a span of seven minutes, Kerry Shea netted three goals and Jessi Lieb tallied two, propelling Penn State to a 12-11 advantage. However, the Lions lost momentum and William & Mary was able to regain control of play, going on to score the last three goals of the game to claim the 14-12 victory.

Penn State secured an early lead to the game, going up 2-0 on the strength of goals by Shari Maslin (New City, N.Y.) and Lieb. William & Mary responded with three unanswered scores before Kim Kontson slowed the Tribe attack with a goal with 17:29 remaining, tying the game at 3-3. However, the Tribe would go on to score six of the first period's last seven goals, opening its 9-4 halftime lead.

Kerry Shea and Jessi Lieb headlined the Penn State offense, scoring four goals each, including seven of the Lions' eight second half scores. Shari Maslin collected two points, scoring the first goal of the game and assisting on Lieb's first score.

Penn State will wrap up its three-game home stand next weekend on Sat., March 18 when it takes on No. 6 Princeton in a 3:00 p.m. game at Holuba Hall. The Nittany Lions then face Temple, Maryland, and North Carolina on the road the following week.

SCORING SUMMARY
1st 28:45 Penn State - Shari Maslin (unassisted)
1st 26:03 Penn State - Jessi Lieb (Shari Maslin)
1st 23:31 William & Mary - Morgan Lang (Jaime Sellers)
1st 21:10 William & Mary - Emily Vitrano (unassisted)
1st 18:32 William & Mary - Kara Parker (unassisted)
1st 17:29 Penn State - Kim Kontson (free position shot)
1st 15:34 William & Mary - Colleen Dalon (unassisted)
1st 10:19 William & Mary - Morgan Lang (La Nolan)
1st 08:01 Penn State - Lindsay Dutch (unassisted)
1st 07:21 William & Mary - Kara Parker (La Nolan)
1st 03:39 William & Mary - Colleen Dalon (unassisted)
1st 01:41 William & Mary - Kara Parker (unassisted)
1st 00:04 William & Mary - Colleen Dalon (unassisted)
2nd 27:50 Penn State - Kerry Shea (unassisted)
2nd 25:52 Penn State - Jessi Lieb (free position shot)
2nd 25:01 William & Mary - Emily Vitrano (unassisted)
2nd 24:05 Penn State - Lori Havrilla (free position shot)
2nd 22:37 William & Mary - Morgan Lang (free position shot)
2nd 19:58 Penn State - Kerry Shea (unassisted)
2nd 19:39 Penn State - Jessi Lieb (unassisted)
2nd 14:32 Penn State - Kerry Shea (free position shot)
2nd 13:52 Penn State - Jessi Lieb (unassisted)
2nd 13:01 Penn State - Kerry Shea (unassisted)
2nd 09:36 William & Mary - Emily Vitrano (unassisted)
2nd 08:48 William & Mary - Emily Vitrano (unassisted)
2nd 05:15 William & Mary - Emily Vitrano (Kristen Wong)

SHOTS: William & Mary 32, Penn State 22
GROUND BALLS: William & Mary 20, Penn State 19
DRAW CONTROLS: William & Mary 14, Penn State 13
GOALKEEPING: Cammie Jurkowsky, Penn State - 7 saves, 14 goals against; Amanda Roth - 5 saves, 12 goals against