STATE COLLEGE, Pa., March 15, 2002 -- The Penn State women's lacrosse team dropped its home-opener to eighth-ranked Virginia Friday afternoon, 11-9. The Lions fall to 1-2 on the season while the Cavaliers improve to 5-1. Sophomore Katie Hartman (Annapolis, Md.) scored two goals to lead Penn State in the loss.
Virginia took an early two-goal lead but a Lion goal by Hartman cut the lead to one. The Cavaliers scored three more times before Penn State answered with three-straight goals of their own with less than six minutes to play in the half. Freshman Kristen Burke (Severna Park, Md.) scored her third goal of the season with 5:20 to play off an assist from senior Molly Ford (Trenton, N.J.). Hartman scored her second goal of the afternoon on a free position shot with 2:49 remaining in the first stanza. Ford then answered with a goal of her own with 1:59 to play off an assist from senior defender Katie Schiller (Penfield, N.Y.) and the Lions went into the half trailing 5-4.
After the break, Penn State came out on fire, scoring three goals in the first seven minutes to go up by two. Sophomore Jackie Sherman (Wilton, Conn.) tallied her first goal of the season on a free position shot three minutes into the half while sophomore Stephanie Curnoles (Baltimore, Md.) also recorded her first tally off an assist from sophomore Jamie Donahue (Oreland, Pa.). Junior Colleen O'Hara (Ardmore, Pa.) scored at 23:51 but was quickly answered by a Cavalier goal at 23:43. Penn State senior Alison DeCecco (Newtown Square, Pa.), assisted by Donahue, came back with a goal of her own at 22:14 but Virginia proved to be too much for the Lions in the remaining minutes. The Cavaliers scored five straight goals to retake the lead. A Donahue tally with 28 seconds proved to be too little too late as Penn State was unable to make a late comeback.
The Lions remain at home as they host the Tribe of William and Mary on Sunday, March 17 at Bigler Field. Game time is slated for noon and the contest can be heard on 1450 AM WMAJ or over the internet on Penn State's official athletic website, www.GoPSUsports.com.
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