The No. 13 Penn State women's lacrosse team (5-1) began its recent road trip sluggishly, but recovered quickly last week to win two out
of three games away from Happy Valley.

After losing to No. 7 Virginia, 13-6, on March 9, the Nittany Lions responded with a dominating 12-4 victory against William & Mary two days later. On Saturday, Penn State upset No. 8 Princeton, 8-7, continuing its impressive start.

"It was a good road swing," Penn State coach Suzanne Isidor said. "Obviously, it would have been better if we played better against Virginia, but it was good."

The Lions had hoped to maintain their undefeated streak, but they couldn't get past the Cavaliers.

The game was tied at four after the first half, but Virginia's offensive firepower was too much for Penn State in the final 30 minutes. The Cavaliers opened up the second half with a 5-0 run and never looked back from there, as they cruised to their fifth consecutive victory.

When Penn State returned to the field against William & Mary, the roles were reversed. This time, it was the Lions who couldn't be stopped offensively.

Sophomore midfielder Kerry Shea led the offensive charge with five goals, and senior attacker Karen Long added two of her own. The defensive lapses that the team had suffered in earlier games seemed to disappear, as only four goals got by senior goalkeeper Cammie Jurkowsky.

"We were disappointed with the way we played against Virginia," Isidor said. "The team came out fighting really hard against William & Mary."

That intensity carried over into the Princeton game, which was a tight battle all the way down to the waning minutes.

Princeton jumped on top early, building a 2-0 lead over the Lions through 10 minutes. Senior attacker Lindsay Dutch and junior midfielder Jessi Lieb put them on the board in the first half, but the Tigers still held a 4-2 advantage at the midway point.

In the second half, the Lions rallied back with six straight goals, two each from Dutch and sophomore midfielder Mariel Bryan.

The Tigers scored two late goals to come within one, but Penn State held on for the victory.

"It was a really important win," Dutch said. "We wanted to get the most out of that game and we were more determined to win."

With only one loss so far this season, Dutch thinks the team is well ahead of last year's progress and primed for the road ahead.

"We're all fired up and really confident in ourselves," she said. "And for good reason."