What a week it has been for Katie Jeschke, an attacker for the Penn State women's lacrosse team.

First, the sophomore scored five goals in the No. 10 Nittany Lions' (4-6, 1-1 ALC) 10-9 upset of No. 6 Loyola (8-2) on Saturday. Then on Tuesday she was named the Warrior/Inside Lacrosse Player of the Week for her effort in the Lions' key victory against the then No. 3 Greyhounds.

Jeschke said it was an honor to be named player of the week with how many other great players there are among the top 20 women's lacrosse teams.

"It was definitely a great honor," said Jeschke, who is tied for the team lead in goals this season with attacker Colleen O'Hara and also has five assists. "It came at a great time beating the No. 3 team."

Jeschke worked especially well with O'Hara against Loyola in the second half. O'Hara fed Jeschke a number of times for goals.

O'Hara often set up at the top of the 12-meter circle with Jeschke on her left wing. O'Hara would whip a pass to Jeschke, who would in turn fire a shot into one of the corners of the net from around the eight-meter mark.

Jeschke said she and O'Hara have clicked since the very start of last season, when Jeschke joined the Lions.

"We definitely work together well," Jeschke said.

Despite Jeschke's stellar game against the Greyhounds, O'Hara leads the Lions with 27 points on 20 goals and seven assists.

Lions coach Suzanne Isidor said the fact that the Lions' attackers were working well as a whole against Loyola helped Jeschke gain space to maneuver.

"It was a credit to her teammates creating the space for her," Isidor said. "(The Player of the Week award) says a lot for K.J. (Jeschke) and our team," Isidor said. "She was able to capitalize on her opportunities because her teammates got her the ball."

Freshmen step up against Loyola

While the play of freshmen attackers Emily Chambers and Kristen Burke did not grab the headlines after Penn State's win against the Greyhounds, the two players' strong efforts were key in the Lions' victory.

Burke scored a late rebound goal that proved to be the game winner. This past weekend was the second straight in which Burke contributed strongly on offense. The Maryland native scored three goals against Maryland on Mar. 29.

"Kristen Burke does a nice job on the attack," Isidor said. "She had a key goal (against Loyola)."

Isidor said Burke's combination of height (6-foot-one), speed and strong stick skills make it difficult to steal the ball from her. Against Loyola, these assets helped Burke to protect the ball when the Lions' had to keep possession and run the clock late in the game.

Chambers played solid defense, often covering Loyola's top scorer, Stacey Morlang one-on-one and hustling on the defensive end. Morlang only scored two goals against the Lions (she has 30 goals in 10 games for the season) thanks to pressure one-on-one defense from either Chambers or midfielder Ali Dececco, as well as strong help defense.

"Emily came up with some hustle ground balls," Isidor said. "Kristen, Emily and Tort (Lions freshman goalie Lee Tortorelli) have been playing beyond their years."

Tortorelli also played arguably her best game of the season, challenging the Greyhound shooters and coming up with some big saves.

"Tort was huge," Isidor said.