Tribe Lacrosse Falls, 18-12, at No. 19 Penn State

Senior Jaime Sellers Tallies Four Points in Defeat

03/09/08 6:00PM

University Park, Pa. - Jessi Leib scored four goals and added a pair of assists, and Mary LeNoir scored two of her three goals in a big first half to help 19th-ranked Penn State defeat William and Mary, 18-12, Sunday afternoon in Happy Valley.

Penn State (2-2) limited the Tribe to just five shots in the first half, using an 8-3 advantage in draw controls and 12-4 edge in ground balls, and built an 8-2 lead before holding off a Tribe comeback attempt in the second half.

Senior midfielder Jaime Sellers (Kennebunk, Maine) had four points on three goals and an assist for W&M (2-4), and freshman Grace Golden (Manhasset, N.Y.) scored three goals.

Sophomore goalkeeper Sara Beckstead (Annapolis, Md.) recorded six saves in the first half, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Tribe from dropping its fourth straight game.

The Nittany Lions struck first on a goal by Kim Konston and took a 4-1 lead on Konston’s second tally at the 20:38 mark of the first. Sellers answered Konston’s first marker, but the second capped a three-goal run for Penn State. Freshman Ashley Holofcener (Reisterstown, Md.) scored unassisted two minutes later, but the Nittany Lions dominated the rest of the opening period and pulled away with four consecutive goals to build the six-goal halftime lead.

LeNoir netted her second to start the run, and Leib found the net for the first time in the final three minutes of the first to give Penn State an 8-2 advantage.

Golden scored on a free-position goal to open the second half to trim the deficit to five, but Penn State answered with consecutive goals by Kerry Shea and Leib.

Trailing 10-3, the Tribe used a lighting-fast three-goal run to claw its way back into the contest. Anderson fired home her 15th goal of the season with 22:17 remaining, and Sellers followed with another unassisted goal only nine seconds later to pull W&M to within 10-5. After another draw win, Anderson scored her second with 21:57 remaining to make it 10-6.

Leib stuffed the Tribe comeback bid though with her third, which ignited a four-goal spree by the Lions. Shea’s second with 12:52 on the clock capped the run and pushed the Lions’ advantage to 14-6.

Consecutive goals from Sellers and junior Clare Dennis (Catonsville, Md.) cut the margin back to six, 14-8, but Penn State once again had the answer. LeNoir notched a hat trick with her third at the 7:38 mark, before Mariel Bryan got into the act with a goal with 5:16 remaining. Leib’s fourth capped a three-goal run and gave Penn State a commanding 17-8 lead with 3:42 to play.

Golden scored twice in the final three minutes for the Tribe, and Katie Rees (Catonsville, Md.) set the final margin with her fourth goal of the season in the closing seconds.

Sellers led the Tribe with four draw controls, and Golden added a pair of draw wins as the Tribe recovered from the shaky start in the second. Anderson added an assist for three points, and junior Katie Lawlor (Philadelphia, Pa.) picked up a pair of ground balls.


Box Score