Tribe's Second-Half Surge Sparks Upset of 12th-ranked Penn State

Sophomore Jamie Fitzgerald Nets Game-Winner with 0:08 Remaining

03/13/05 4:30PM

Williamsburg - William and Mary sophomore midfielder Jamie Fitzgerald (Jenkintown, PA) scored her career-high third goal of the game with eight seconds remaining in regulation to give the Tribe a 13-12 upset victory over 12th-ranked Penn State Sunday afternoon in a non-conference women’s lacrosse game at Busch Field.

The victory squares the Tribe’s overall record at 2-2, while the Nittany Lions, who had just defeated top-ranked, defend-ing national champion Virginia Friday night in Charlottesville, were handed their first loss of the season, falling to 4-1.

Fitzgerald’s game-winning tally capped a monumental second-half comeback for the College, as the Tribe rallied from a five-goal deficit in the final 15 minutes with a spirited offensive attack to pull the upset. After trailing 8-4 at the break, junior attacker La Nolan (Ruxton, MD) energized the W&M faithful with her fifth goal of the season, off a beautiful feed from senior All-American candidate Morgan Watkins (Fort Washington, PA), to cut the deficit to 10-6 with 18:35 remaining. Penn State, however, went back up by five less than two minutes later on a score by Lindsay Dutch, setting the stage for W&M’s dramatic comeback.

With the Lions again threatening deep in Tribe territory, sophomore midfielder Kristen Wong (Richmond, VA) caused a critical turnover, gained possession and quickly sent the action the other way. W&M patiently worked its offense, and junior All-American candidate Colleen Dalon (Moorestown, NJ), who scored four goals in the contest, notched an unassisted goal at the 13:44 mark to make it 11-7 and begin the run.

After Penn State controlled the draw, junior midfielder Morgan Lang (Westfield, NJ) forced another crucial turnover and the Tribe was back in business in its offensive third. Calmly working the point, Fitzgerald found an opening and took advantage, firing a shot past Penn State keeper Lee Tortorelli to pull within three, 11-8, with 12:07 left on the clock. Seeing the momentum mounting in favor of W&M, the Lions called timeout, but after Dalon controlled the ensuing draw, Fitzgerald found the net again exactly 40 seconds later to trim the margin to 11-9.

Clinging to the two-goal advantage, Penn State took control off the draw and worked the clock for a couple minutes, eventually gaining a free-position attempt for Kristen Burke. Looking to go up three, Burke fired a shot low, but Tribe freshman goalkeeper Amanda Roth (Bethesda, MD), outstanding between the pipes all day, made one of her six saves to keep it a two-goal game. The Lions remained in control until Fitzgerald caused a turnover, one off 11 Penn State give-aways in the second half, and led the transition back into the offensive end.

W&M continued to pressure the Lions’ net, but Tortorelli answered with one of her 10 saves on a free-position shot by Dalon, before sophomore midfielder Emily Vitrano (Cockeysville, MD), who tallied two first-half scores, drilled the cross-bar, leaving the margin at 11-9. The Lions collected the rebound off Vitrano’s blast, but Dalon forced yet another turnover to keep the action in the offensive third. After Penn State’s Kate Townsend received a yellow card, Dalon was awarded another free-position opportunity and, not to be denied this time, netted her third goal of the game with 6:55 remaining to make it 11-10.

Penn State controlled the resulting draw and again worked the clock briefly, before gaining a free-position opportunity for Shari Maslin. Roth, however, was equal to the task once again, as she stoned the free-position shot, but the Lions broke through on Laura Havrilla’s third goal of the game with 4:37 remaining to go back in front by two.

Unfazed by Penn State’s potentially devastating tally, senior Becca Hall (Ft. Belvoir, VA) swooped in, controlled the en-suing draw and led the attack back into the Lions’ end. Just 32 seconds later, Dalon, working from behind the net, feathered a perfect pass to a wide open Lang, who whipped a shot past Tortorelli from about eight meters to once again trim the deficit to a single goal, 12-11, with 4:05 to play.

The Lions gained control off the draw, but Lang forced another turnover to give it right back to W&M. After a successful clear, Dalon nearly capped the comeback on another free-position shot, but Tortorelli was there for the save. Penn State gained control with just under two minutes to play, but with what was perhaps its biggest turnover of the afternoon, the Lions gave it right back on the clear attempt. Now also working against the clock, Watkins, who finished with three assists, fed a cutting Dalon near the right side of the crease, and the junior scorched the twine for the fourth time to even the score at 12-12 with just 1:09 remaining.

Reluctant to settle for overtime, Hall again recorded a critical draw control and the Tribe had an opportunity to win it in regulation. W&M patiently ran its offense, looking for an opening, which came when Dalon was double-teamed on the right side. Alertly, Dalon flipped to Fitzgerald, who buried the game-winner with eight seconds left on the clock, giving the Tribe the upset victory.

Dalon finished with six points, five ground balls and three draw controls, while Watkins wound up with four points on a goal and three helpers. With the four points, Watkins moved into third place on the College’s career points list with 154, and the three assists brought her career total to 54, which is the third-best career assists mark in W&M history.

Hall, who scored her first goal of the season in the opening half, had another outstanding all-around game for the Tribe, finishing with four ground balls, three caused turnovers and three critical draw controls. Lang added a pair of caused turn-overs and three ground balls, while Wong wound up with three ground balls and an assist.

W&M is back in action on Wednesday afternoon, as it hosts another ranked opponent, No. 5 Georgetown, at 4 p.m.

William and Mary 13, #12 Penn State 12
Box Score