There's no doubt that the women's lacrosse team (4-2) is fast, especially on turf. But the start of yesterday's first half was far from it.

No. 4 Virginia took a commanding 7-2 lead in the first half, including five goals from Jenny Slinguff. The Lady Cavaliers beat No. 3 Penn State, 9-6, on the turf beside Holuba Hall.

"You feel their attack starting to lull," Coach Julie Williams, a Virginia alumnus, said. "And so the defense goes with that mood. And then suddenly -- boom -- they're taking off. They dusted us a couple of times. It's just a split-second of sleep and they're off."

The Lady Lions never led during the game and they seemed a step slow in the first half. The offensive spark was lacking.

Deanna Blood scored Penn State's first goal on a perfect shot that found the far left side of the net. Donna Bucci also scored in the first half. The Lady Lions were held scoreless for the final ten minutes of the half while Virginia exploded for four goals, including one with 25 seconds left.

Despite the seven goals, Kay Young still had ten saves in the first half and thirteen overall.

"We got a significant lead," Virginia Coach Jane Miller said. "That was key for us because, anytime you go on the road, you need to jump on the other team early in order to stay in it."

Fourteen seconds into the second half, a Virginia goal extended the lead to 8-2. Penn State's prompt comeback fell short. Goals by Lori Fitzgerald, Sue Nutter, Marcy Kolongowski and Christy Sansone were not enough.

"I don't think we really ran much of an offense when it got down to the final ten minutes," senior attacker Blood said. "It wasn't that we weren't getting the shots, we just had to nail the shots."

Virginia stalled well towards the end. When Penn State had a rush, it was stifled by 11 defenders or an offensive error.

"When they have that happen, we have got to send all of our defenders through," Williams said. "The defense was slow to do that. We forced a couple of things but you tend to do that when you are under pressure."

Saturday's result was a little more satisfying. The Lady Lions pulled off a 7-6 overtime win against No. 2 William & Mary. Bucci scored with 32 seconds left in the first half of overtime to capture the victory.

"It was crowded and I got the ball in a free position," Bucci said. "I was aiming for the bottom right corner. I saw it go in the whole way, and the ref had a delayed reaction. I was just standing there waiting for her to blow the whistle, because I knew it went in."

The Tribe took a 4-1 lead, but then were shut out for the next 23 minutes as Penn State took a 6-4 lead. The Tribe fought back and tied the game with 3:59 to go in the second half.

"Down 4-1, I thought, 'Oh dear, here we go again,' " Williams said. "I was wondering when they would suddenly decide, 'OK, it's time to play now.' I knew it was in them."