April 27, 2008

by Clare Lochary, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

PHILADELPHIA - To beat Northwestern, you have to be just about perfect. So that's what Penn did.

The fourth-ranked Quakers (13-1) scored seven straight goals and shut out the top-ranked Wildcats (15-1) in the second half to secure an 11-7 win at Franklin Field. The victory ended Northwestern's 36-game winning streak, dating back to the second game of the 2007 season and including two wins over Penn, one of which was a heartbreaking 12-2 NCAA tournament semifinal loss on the same field.

"We wanted them to be undefeated. We wanted us to come out hard. We wanted to play on our field. This is our home. We love Franklin Field, and it feels so good to come back out and do what we wanted to do last year but were too afraid to," said Penn goalie and captain Sarah Waxman, who made seven saves.

Penn rallied from a 7-4, first-half deficit for the school's inaugural victory over a No. 1 team. The Quakers showed few nerves and much patience, as they reeled off five goals during the first 8:06 of the second half.

After freshman Giulia Giordano (3g, 2a) scored her third goal with 21:54 remaining to give Penn a 10-7 lead, the Quakers executed a fast-moving, but meticulously executed stall that frustrated Northwestern's signature aggressive defense.

"The funny thing about a stall is the hardest part is the first 30 seconds or minute, and then after that, you've got the momentum," said senior Allison Ambrozy (3g). "This is the last obstacle [so] we know we can be national champions, and I frankly hope we play them again. I'd like to do it twice."

Ambrozy scored her third and final goal off a putback from a point-blank save by Northwestern goalie Morgan Lathrop with just under eight minutes remaining in the game. Lathrop finished with just six saves, but each one was an acrobatic feat thanks to Penn's sniper-like shot selection. The Quakers scored 11 goals on just 22 shots, and had three attempts bounce off the pipes.

As the game wore on, Northwestern attempted to cause turnovers to spark a rally, but aggressive defense too often edged into foul territory. The Wildcats committed 33 fouls to Penn's 15.

"My team is young, and they don't necessarily realize that when we tell them, but I'm sure probably right now they'll realize it," said Northwestern head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller.

Neither Amonte Hiller nor Penn head coach Karin Brower called a timeout during the entire game. Hiller said she wanted a timeout as the second half wore on, but Northwestern kept committing turnovers at key moments, and she couldn't call it quickly enough.

"They're an unbelievable team that makes you change the way you play because of their aggressive defense. To hold them scoreless for a half, it's unbelievable, because they're such a potent offensive team," said Brower, who gave her defenders the green light to check early and often against a Wildcats offense that came in averaging nearly 17 goals a game.

"The whole team caused a lot of turnovers in transition to let us keep the ball, and then the attack handled it."

Penn trailed 7-5 at the half, but the final minute of the first period tipped the momentum towards the Quakers. Rachel Manson fed Ambrozy on the crease, and Ambrozy buried a shot to cut the Wildcats' game-high, three-goal lead to just two with 37 seconds remaining.

Northwestern controlled the subsequent draw, and Hillary Bowen (3g) drew a wild check from defender Tarah Kirnan just as time expired. The umpires briefly debated on whether the foul occurred before the buzzer, and ultimately put one second back on the clock and gave Bowen a penalty shot.

Bowen (3g) released a low bounce shot that Waxman saved.

"I don't even remember what happened in my head. I think I blacked it out," said Waxman.

But the rest of the day she'll remember forever.