Even though the defense in yesterday's women's lacrosse team must have fallen asleep at times, occasionally it had enough life in it to head up the field and contribute to some of the action.

In a 31-4 Lady Lions' blowout over Shippensburg, defensive wing Karen Hoysted tallied five goals, third man Elena Brazer scored three times and cover point Tracy Mass had one. Not bad for a unit that's supposed to stop the shots.

"If you see the opening, you're supposed to cut through there," Hoysted said. "It's (nice) that the defense can go down and score."

"We want to lull them to sleep, so when they turn their heads, we're off," Brazer added. "That's the main objective."

Several times against the Lady Raiders either Brazer or Hoysted would suddenly make a quick dart in front of the goal, collect the pass and slam it home. Hoysted scored her first goal when she broke through the defense for an open shot. Brazer collected her third in the first half with a shot that rolled on the ground into the goal. Mass's effort was completely solo, as she ran almost the entire length of the field before shooting it high into the goal.

It helps that Brazer and Hoysted, both juniors, are considered two of the faster players on the team. Once they pick up the ball, they're down the field in no time. It's exactly the kind of transition that any team and coach would want.

"Of course I love it that everybody's a threat," Coach Julie Williams said. "When they make the right choices, I want them to suddenly pop it in there."

Brazer credited much of her success to the offense working the ball and setting up plays, allowing her, the other defenders and the rest of the offense to make cuts and get into scoring position.

So far this season, the two have also helped to solidify a defense that has given up only 15 goals, an average of less than four per game. Apart from playing solid defense, Williams mentioned she is pleased with the entire unit's communication among each other, enabling the defense to often break up opposing offenses.

With what little pressure Shippensburg applied, Brazer came up with steals that started yet another attack. And Hoysted handled the draws at midfield throughout much of the second half, often winning control and sending the team running again.

"We can work together and be a scoring threat," Brazer said. "So instead of other team's concentrating on one strength, everyone can be (one)."