Monday, March 16, 1998

Lady laxers answer wake-up call, beat JMU

By DON STEWART
Collegian Sports Writer

The Penn State women's lacrosse team got an early wake-up call.

The No. 8 Lady Lions went 2-1 in their three games during the past week, two of which were against ranked opponents. In the third game on Saturday, they held off No. 9 James Madison 12-11 in Harrisonburg, Va.

Although the win over JMU (2-1) ended Penn State's three-game stint on a high note, it wasn't all good times and high-fives for the Lions (3-1). They pulled out a close 10-8 win over unheralded Colgate on March 7 and lost 12-7 to No. 6 Loyola on March 11.

Lion lacrosse player Jen Johnson evades a duo of Richmond players during a game against the Spiders on March 4. Penn State went 2-1 during spring break with wins against Colgate and James Madison. (Collegian Photo/Mike Morones - click for full size image)

Senior midfielder Sarah Long said both the Colgate and Loyola games served as wake-up calls for Penn State. She said the team wasn't playing up to its standard in terms of intensity.

"(Loyola) beat us to a lot of balls," Long said. "We had a lot of turnovers. They definitely out-hustled us in many situations."

Wanting to put the past behind them, junior midfielder Emily Mechem said the Lions refocused themselves in the time between the Loyola and JMU games. The result was a more aggressive showing against the Dukes.

"That's when we really connected with each other," Mechem said. "We knew there was no way we were going to lose this game."

In the last 10 seconds against James Madison on Saturday, it was Lion sophomore Julie Tice who connected with junior Jen Johnson to clinch the victory.

Despite trailing by as many as four goals, the Dukes never folded. They rallied from a 9-5 second-half deficit to tie the game at 9 with slightly more than 13 minutes to play.

Penn State regained the lead via Tice-assisted goals by Johnson and Mechem. However, the Dukes once again charged back. JMU sophomore Julie Weiss' goal with just under four minutes left cut the Lions' lead to one. Then, with 34 seconds on the clock, junior attack Megan Riley evened the score with her third goal of the game.

Penn State came through in the clutch 24 seconds later, though, when Tice fed Johnson's game-winning goal. Johnson finished with five goals, while Tice picked up four assists.

Mechem said the Lions' hustle was the key to their win.

"James Madison was really a good step for us as a team," Mechem said. "All over the field we hustled a lot more. We came out more determined to dictate the game. Any ball that was out there on the field was ours."