Attacker Colleen O'Hara scored four second-half goals, including the game winner, and midfielder B.J. Lucey added two more as the No. 12 Nittany Lions women's lacrosse team (2-2, 0-1 ALC) defeated No. 19 William and Mary (1-4) 10-8 yesterday in Holuba Hall.
Lucey couldn't have been more pleased with the victory.
"It's great to win," Lucey said after Penn State's victory against the Tribe.
"We needed this going into Wednesday because we have a big conference game against (No. 18) John Hopkins."
The win gave the Lions increased confidence after falling to No. 7 Virginia (5-1) 11-9 on Friday, in front of 263 fans at Bigler Field.
That was was largely a result of Penn State's many turnovers.
It was O'Hara's determination in driving to the net that sparked an impressive Lions second half comeback.
The Tribe had taken a 6-2 lead into halftime, but that wasn't going to last for long.
The junior showed why she was the Lions' leading scorer last season and earned her hat trick, as she put home two goals to bring the score from 8-5 to 8-7 in a minute's time with about 17 minutes to play in the second stanza.
On similar plays, O'Hara twice drove from the side of the 12-meter circle and bounced the ball past the Tribe's goalie Sydney Richards.
After Lion forward Jamie Donahue knotted the game at 8-8, O'Hara drove hard to the net from the right side and bounced the ball across the crease and into the cage for the game-winning goal at 9-8.
"That's the Colleen O'Hara that I love to see," Lucey said.
"She really played well today and she really turned it on in the second half.
"Without her efforts we couldn't have won today."
O'Hara said she was determined to convert on her opportunities in the second half.
"I missed my first two or three shots," said O'Hara, who now has 8 goals on the season.
"I just came out fired up in the second half and put them in."
Lucey, a Lions co-captain, scored goals on nice cuts to the net, earlier in the second half, that made the score 6-3 and 6-5 in favor of the Tribe.
William and Mary attacker Kelly McQuade and midfielder Allison Evans scored back to back goals on Lions goaltender Lee Tortorelli to make the score 8-5.
However, Penn State clamped down on defense.
But more importantly, it maintained possession of the ball for most of the remaining 19 minutes of play.
Lucey and Lions coach Suzanne Isidor both agreed that Penn State's second-half focus on and execution of strong defense and ball possession were important keys to the Lions' victory.
"In the second half we definitely tried to eliminate the turnovers and tighten up the defense," Lucey said.
Isidor said the Lions committed many less turnovers in the second half than they did in the first half and in Friday's loss to Virginia. That was a major reason they came out with the victory.
"Friday we were plagued by turnovers and in the first half today we were plagued by turnovers," Isidor said.
"In the second half (on Sunday) we did a much better job of taking care of the ball.
"We can't wait until the second half from now on. We have to start from the very beginning."
In Friday's game against Virginia, quick Cavalier attacker Molly Cangemi scored four goals and freshmen Cary Chasney and Amy Appelt each tallied twice to key the Cavaliers victory against the Lions.
Lions' midfielder Katie Hartman scored her first two goals of the year to lead Penn State.Isidor said her team had a strong all-around game and goalie Lee Tortorelli played great in goal against Virginia.
However, Isidor added that the Lions' frequent turnovers, many of which resulted in goals for the Cavaliers, was the difference between the two squads.
"Turnovers were what killed us," Isidor said. "(In) midfield transition and on the attacking end the turnovers just killed us. That's where we lost the game."
