Williamsburg, Va., March 13, 2005 - The 12th-ranked Penn State women's lacrosse team dropped its first game of the season, falling 13-12 to William and Mary Sunday afternoon in Williamsburg, Va. Penn State now holds a season record of 4-1 while the Tribe even their mark to 2-2.
Junior Lori Havrilla (Devon, Pa.) and sophomore Joanie Plake (Pittsburgh, Pa.) each scored three goals in the loss while junior Shari Maslin (New City, N.Y.) chipped in two scores. Adding one goal each were senior Kristen Burke (Severna Park, Md.), senior Emily Chambers (Valley Cottage, N.Y.), sophomore Karen Long (Ellicott City, Md.) and sophomore Lindsay Dutch (Ellicott City, Md.). Burke also chipped in three assists and Maslin added one.
Senior goalkeeper Lee Tortorelli (Havertown, Pa.) faced 32 shots, allowing 13 goals and making 10 saves. Dutch led the squad with three draw controls as Chambers, Havrilla, Plake and freshman Jess Lieb (Villanova, Pa.) each added two draws. Tortorelli topped the team with five ground balls.
William and Mary scored first less than a minute into the game before back to back goals from Burke and Plake gave Penn State the 2-1 lead with 26:45 remaining in the first half. The Tribe scored less than 30 seconds later to even the score at 2-2 but a Chambers goal off a pass from Maslin put the Lions back on top, 3-2, with just over 25 minutes remaining in the half. William and Mary's Emily Vitrano recorded consecutive goals to put the Tribe ahead 4-3 before Penn State went on a run, scoring the next five goals to go into halftime with the 8-4 lead.
Out of the break, the Nittany Lions continued their tear, as Plake scored with 27:38 remaining in the game to extend the Penn State lead to 9-4. The teams traded goals twice as a Penn State goal by Dutch with 16:41 left in the game gave the Lions the 11-6 lead. But William and Mary stormed back, scoring four unanswered goals within the next 10 minutes to trim the Penn State cushion to one at 11-10. A Havrilla goal pushed the Lion advantage to two at 12-10 with 4:37 remaining in the game before the Tribe scored twice to even the score at 12-12 with 1:09 remaining in the contest. William and Mary's Jamie Fitzgerald then found the back of the net with just eight seconds remaining to give the Tribe the 13-12 victory.
Penn State remains on the road, traveling to Princeton on March 19 for a 2:00 p.m. contest with the Tigers. The Nittany Lions return home on March 22 for a 3:00 p.m. game with Temple.
For more information on the Penn State women's lacrosse team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.
