Only in a lacrosse game can you build an early lead, lose it, come back and take the lead, proceed to turn the game into a blowout and then allow it to become close again.

The Penn State women's lacrosse team managed to do all of those things Saturday in its season and home opener against Vanderbilt, but still found a way to narrowly pull out the win, 12-11.

"It was a rollercoaster, but it was a great first game," Penn State women's lacrosse coach Suzanne Isidor said.

From the opening buzzer, the Lions' aggressive attack put the Commodores on their heels. Within the first 10 minutes, Penn State held a surprising 4-0 lead over a heavily-favored Vanderbilt team. Ten minutes later, the tables were turned, and Vanderbilt seemed as if it was ready to take control of the game. The Lions seemed as out of place as a fish out of water and by the half, the Commodores boasted a 5-4 lead.

"At the half, we just talked about the fact that we had the lead," Isidor said. "We could obviously score on them. They weren't going to give us anything easy -- they were going to come back at us."

And come back, they did.

Though Penn State tied the game just over a minute into the second half, Vanderbilt regained the lead a minute later.

The Lions had enough, however, and went on to score seven unanswered goals. Senior Colleen O'Hara led the attack, scoring two goals during Penn State's 7-0 run.

O'Hara said the Lions' rebound was the result of focus and positive thinking.

"If we get down after they score three goals, it's all over from there," she said. "We kept our heads up and stayed positive and it got us through."

Penn State held a commanding 12-6 lead until Vanderbilt put together a ferocious comeback, scoring four goals in the last 1:40 of the game. With 14 seconds left, the Commodores closed within one, but it would be too little too late.

"For some reason, we didn't have the sense of urgency that we needed to have for a whole 60 minutes," Vanderbilt women's lacrosse coach Cathy Swezey said. "I think our kids felt all of the sudden like, 'Oh my God, we're going to lose.' I think they kind of just lit a fire under themselves and got it going."

Isidor admitted that though Penn State came out on top, it's a long season and the team has a lot to learn.

"I think everybody realizes we can't keep going up and down like that," she said. "We need to maintain that. That fact that we pulled it out at the end gave everybody confidence that we could win a close game."

The win marks the first time the Nittany Lions have beaten the Commodores since March 10, 1999, and the first time in three years that Penn State has won its season opener.

"It's huge [for the team morale]," Isidor said. "Getting the win was huge for so many reasons -- revenge from last year after a tough loss to Vanderbilt ... Just putting all of that hard work ... and to get the payoff and to win in the first game was really crucial."