The Delaware women's lacrosse team arrived at Holuba Hall on Saturday hoping to repeat last year's upset win over Penn State. However, the Nittany Lions wouldn't make the same mistake twice as they defeated Delaware, 15-10.

Penn State (1-0) was eagerly awaiting this game not only because it provided them a chance for payback, but also because it needed to kick the season off right if the team was going to reach its goal of getting back into the NCAA tournament.

Penn State head coach Suzanne Isidor was pleased to start the season with a win, but saw a lot of areas where her team could improve.

"It was a win, and I'll always take a win," Isidor said. "But we're definitely not satisfied in the way we played."

The Lions stormed out of the gate in the first half, building a big lead over the Blue Hens. Attacker Karen Long started the scoring nearly five minutes into the game, and from there Penn State began to roll.

The Lions led 4-0 before Delaware attacker Nicole Flego netted the Blue Hens' first goal. Penn State then scored five straight, including attacker Lindsay Dutch's second and third goals, to go up 9-1.

"We knew it was important not to let down," Dutch said. "We were focused on staying strong and not letting them come back."

But Delaware was able to make things interesting, scoring two goals late in the first half and trading scores with Penn State throughout the second. Isidor said that the Lions' team defense needed work, as well as their second-half shot selection.

Still, the deficit was too large to overcome for the Blue Hens, who never got within five goals of the Lions.

Much of Penn State's offensive outpouring came from Dutch, who finished the game with five goals and four assists. Midfielders Kerry Shea and Maria Valderas each added two goals and two assists.

"We came out with a lot of firepower and we're hoping to build off that for the next game," Shea said. "It's not the perfect game, but we're ready to build off it."

The Lions attributed much of their success to the chemistry on the field. It was obvious on some of the longer passes that the players always knew where to find each other. The players feel this is one of their greatest strengths.

"We work as a unit on all ends of the field," Shea said. "Every time someone scores it's because of someone else."

The team sees the victory as a good starting point, and hopes to hone its strengths and fix some of its shortcomings by Wednesday, when Bucknell visits Holuba Hall.

"We're very happy with the win, but there are also a lot of things we can work on from here," Dutch said. "It kind of gives us a baseline of where to go from here."