On a night that saw goals scored by 13 different players, the No. 14 Penn State women's lacrosse team routed Bucknell for the second year in a row, 19-6.

Lindsay Dutch led the attack for the Nittany Lions with three goals during the last night's game in Holuba Hall. Senior attacker Karen Long added two goals and junior midfielder Jessi Lieb had two goals as well.

Not only was the game special for Long because of her two goals and three assists, but also because she was celebrating her 22nd birthday.

"It was great to do well and get a win on my birthday," Long said. "I have never played a game on my birthday before, so it was pretty cool."

In the first half the Lions were dominant at both ends, showing an improved intensity on defense from the opening whistle. They held the Bison scoreless for the last 24 minutes and scored three goals in a span of less than 30 seconds.

"As a team we wanted to make sure we came out strong from the start, and I believe we did that in this game," head coach Suzanne Isidor said.

After allowing 10 goals against Delaware in their first game of the season, the Lions made defense the focus in practices throughout the week. Against Bucknell, the Lions held the Bison to four shots and forced 10 turnovers in the first half.

"We played much better team defense tonight," Isidor said. "Coming into this game, our goal was to play the full 60 minutes from start to finish."

Coming out of the half with an 11-1 lead, coach Isidor decided to rest many of her starters and give her reserves a chance to play.

"It was great to be able to give many of our reserves real playing time against a great opponent like Bucknell, especially with the schedule we have coming up," Isidor said.

As the Lions prepare for their next contest on Sunday against Colgate, Isidor still wants to work on improving shooting percentage and limiting fouls, she said. Penn State committed 21 fouls against Bucknell, including 13 in the second half.

With a showdown at No. 9 Virginia looming next Friday, the team will be careful not to look past a young Colgate squad, who will enter Sunday's game with a 0-3 record.