Lady laxers lose another

By ROB AMEN
Collegian Sports Writer

Lady Lion attacker Suzanne Weinberg suffered a slash to the face from a James Madison player while struggling for possession of the ball midway through the second half of the women's lacrosse game on Saturday.

Although Weinberg did not sustain any serious injuries, the play epitomized the way the game -- and the season, for that matter -- has gone for the team.

Even though the Lady Lions hosted their first game of the year, their season took another blow to the chin as Penn State dropped its third-consecutive contest. This time, the No. 5 Lady Lions (0-3) allowed seven James Madison players to score en route to a 9-5 loss at the Holuba Hall turf field.

"It looked like James Madison was much more confident than we were and much more ready to play, much more . . . they were just sharper," Lady Lion Coach Julie Williams said. "Again, we played back on our heels and let them get anything they wanted."

And it looked as if James Madison (2-1) was loving every minute of it. The Lady Dukes wasted no time getting down to business, opening a commanding 3-0 lead early in the first half.

James Madison controlled the opening draw and converted it into a 1-0 advantage when senior attacker Danyle Heffernan beat Lady Lion goalie Heidi Shafer just 32 seconds into the contest.

Nearly four minutes later, junior attacker Anne Slonaker carefully selected the upper right-hand corner of the goal to increase the Lady Dukes' lead to 2-0 at the 25-minute, 34-second mark. Freshman attacker Aimee Vaughan completed the 3-0 run when she scored an unassisted goal at 22:19.

Penn State finally broke into the scoring column when junior midfielder Joanne Connelly connected at 18:44. It seemed as if James Madison's opening spurt took Penn State out of its game plan and forced a sense of urgency.

But Connelly wasn't ready to pin the loss on the early deficit.

"I guess if we were not used to that, it would rattle us a little bit," she said, "but we're used to trying to come back and make it hard on ourselves, so they really don't have that much effect, I don't think."

However, the three goals dug a hole so deep that the Lady Lions could not climb out. But James Madison did not stop at three.

Just 27 seconds after Penn State got on the board, Lady Duke midfielder Jen Gicking used the lower portion of the goal to beat Shafer. Then sophomore attacker Shelley Klaes recorded her first of three goals to open an insurmountable 5-1 advantage in the first half.

"We didn't love what we were doing," Williams said. "I said that at halftime. I had to ask each one of them, 'What are you good at?' "

Penn State showed signs of resurgence at the beginning of the second stanza when senior co-captain Jill Pearsall capitalized on a free shot just 37 seconds in, but James Madison would prove to be too much, as it scored four more times.

Meanwhile, James Madison goalie Meg Cortezi, who had relinquished 24 goals in two games prior to Saturday, played big in the net, preventing the Lady Lions from taking advantage of that handicap.

"She had one of the best games I've ever seen her play," James Madison Coach Jennifer Ulehla said. "She was in control."

And that cost Penn State. Although the Lady Lions lost, Connelly said she did not think there was a lack of effort among the Lady Lions.

"I don't think there's ever a lack of love on this team," she said. "If we didn't love the game, we wouldn't be here. A lack of confidence is probably more like it."