Although the rain made playing conditions tougher, the Lady Ruggers washed away Vassars' dreams of victory by defeating it 24-5 last night at East Fields.

After having a two-week break from competition, Penn State went into the match so energized that team captain Diana Klein told her team to "take a deep breath" during the game in order for them to maintain control.

"We played so frantically during the first half that we kept dropping the ball," Allison Worman said. "But we wrapped up and played together the second half. We were just really excited to show what we could do."

Within the opening minutes, Worman scored the first try off of a pass from Klein, giving the Ruggers an early lead.

Penn State kept the ball in Vassar territory for a majority of the first half, but struggled to score again until Kate Daley scored off of a group drive. Emily Donaldson scored two conversions and felt her team came in yesterday's game with the right state of mind.

"We go in with the same attitude every game," Donaldson said. "We don't act like we're better than any team, but we go in with confidence."

Even though the Ruggers dominated the first half, head coach Pete Steinburg was not pleased with his team's performance.

"The first half was disappointing, even though we had an advantage with the wind," Steinburg said. "We were rusty, but I liked our performance during the second half. We're a team that likes to move the ball wide while Vassar is a team that plays a tighter game. The rain definitely made things more interesting."

As soon as the whistle blew to start the second half, rain began to fal,l and the field and game became dirtier. Vassar kept the ball in Penn State's territory and dominated the second half and scored one try, while Worman managed to score two more tries off of assists from both Annie Zeigler and Meg Burns.

"We offloaded the ball well under pressure and with speed as best we could," Donaldson said. "When it's raining, you want to play close, not wide. Vassar was a little tougher and more aggressive than us, but we adjusted well to the rain."

Although Worman scored three out of the four tries, she didn't feel she played to her potential.

"I did stupid things. My mind wasn't in it," Worman said. "It was probably because I was over-hyped."

After the final whistle blew, the drenched and bruised Lady Ruggers were satisfied with their performance in the less-than-perfect weather.

Penn State will have to quickly dry up their cleats and relax in order to prepare for their next match against American in Washington D.C. this Saturday. Worman hopes that her team will be more calm this weekend.

"It's hard to find a medium between ready to play and overhyped," Worman said. "Hopefully we will be able to find that medium for upcoming competition."