Under a brisk, moonlit October evening the Penn State Lady Lions field hockey team continued their stark offensive surge, defeating Bucknell 8-1 yesterday.

On the strength of precise stickwork and persistent penalty corner play, the Lady Lions jumped to a 3-0 lead and never looked back.

"It was clearly obvious that Penn State was a better team than us," said Bucknell coach Heather Lewis. "It's no secret they're No. 6 in the country."

Midfielder Traci Anselmo got Penn State rolling nine minutes into the game with a goal off a penalty corner. Anselmo finished the game with two goals.

Neilye Stoner, who relentlessly attacked Bucknell's defenders in front of the net, complemented Anselmo's play. Her resilient effort resulted in a backhand goal that was nothing short of spectacular.

Bucknell made the contest interesting with a goal by Lauren Campbell in the waning seconds of the first half. It was their first shot of the game.

"I think it showed them that if they just relax they can execute," Lewis said. "We talked about it at halftime and I said look, you went down, you got a corner, you executed, you got a goal."

In the second half, however, Penn State killed any momentum Bucknell had built with five goals.

"I think when other teams score on you they look for you to breakdown (but) Char really instills in us that when a goal gets scored, keep your heads up, get the ball back to the middle and start the game again," said Anselmo. "If you put your head down you have a five-second lapse and they can bring the ball back downfield on you and score again."

Out of the halftime break, Penn State furiously harassed Bucknell's defense.

Maegan Gaelie spearheaded a diverse attack, scoring two goals and assisting on another, and Timarie Legel notched her second goal of the game during the second half onslaught. Kelly Concini finished the scoring in a contest that saw Penn State outshoot Bucknell 38-2.

"They play at a higher level than we do and I think statistically that's pretty evident," Lewis said.

On the Penn State side, the postgame talk centered on the Lady Lions athletes.

"We're fortunate that we have a lot of skilled players," Morett said. "We are starting to see the depth of our program."

Morett particularly spoke highly of her All-American midfielder, Anselmo.

"She's so unselfish," Morett said. "She's a great leader out there."

Praise for Penn State's play didn't stop with Morett's statements.

Lewis was quick to comment on Penn State's likelihood to vie for the national title.

"I think there's about six teams right now that can compete for the National Championship (and) I would put them right up there," Lewis said.