Elaine Welch had five shots on goal while coming off the bench for the Penn State women's lacrosse team but had yet to score in the team's first three games.
Sunday afternoon, all of that changed.
The sophomore midfielder fired three shots at Colgate goalkeeper Christina Roa, all of which found the back of the net.
"Elaine's a great shooter and she scores a lot of goals in practice," Nittany Lions coach Suzanne Isidor said after Penn State's 17-7 win. "It was just a matter of time until she came out in a game and scored."
Elaine saw playing time in four games last season as a freshman and scored two goals in those games. She was looking forward to getting her first this season, and the three goals she had today could not have come at a better time.
"[Scoring a goal] was really exciting because I've taken a couple of shots in the first few games, and I didn't score," Welch said. "I really wanted to score today, and I'm glad I did."
It isn't easy to come off the bench and immediately become accustomed to the speed and intensity of actual game play, junior midfielder Laura Lesnick said. But Welch stepped up and became another offensive threat in an already potent Penn State lineup.
"I try not to let it affect me," Welch said of coming off the bench. "I know that everyone else around me is really working hard, and I want to go in and play as hard as they've been playing."
Elaine's first tally came at 18:35 of the first half, putting the Lions up 7-1. She scored her second and third goals of the season -- and the game -- at 5:22 and 3:25 of the first half, putting the Lions up 13-2 and all but clinching the victory for Penn State.
Elaine had a 1.000 shooting percentage on Sunday, a perfect 3-for-3. She said being able to shoot on goalies Stephanie Ellis and Dana Cahill in practice has really helped her get a better shot and makes scoring on opposing goalkeepers in games that much easier.
"We have two really great goalies, and they always really challenge us. They make really great stops," Welch said. "I feel like scoring on Dana and Steph is harder than scoring on other goalies."
