May 9, 2008

by Craig Muder, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online

HAMILTON, N.Y. - At some point Sunday afternoon, Sarah Waxman expects to catch a glimpse of Karrie Moore on the Colgate sideline.

"It's going to be weird in the beginning, because I've only seen her related to Penn lacrosse," said Waxman, the Quakers' All-American goalie and a former teammate of Moore's at Penn. "But there are no hard feelings. I'm so happy for her that she found a job in coaching.

"But I still want to win."

The top-ranked Quakers host Colgate at 1 p.m. Sunday at Franklin Field in a first-round NCAA Division I women's lacrosse tournament game. Moore, now a Colgate assistant coach, graduated from Penn in 2006 and split time in goal that season with Waxman, then a sophomore.

"It's always strange when you play against a team you played for, and I played with most of their juniors and seniors," said Moore, who came to Colgate as an assistant coach in the fall of 2006. "I think to a certain degree it gives me an advantage as a coach, because it helps when you know how people play and what they do.

"We're going to need all the help we can get, because she's an amazing goalie."

Moore helped the Raiders to an 11-9 record this year, including the Patriot League tournament title. Penn (14-1) is the No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament but is ranked first in both national polls after winning the Ivy League crown.

And for the second straight season, Waxman has been a huge part of the Quakers' success. Her goals against average (5.97) and save percentage (.506) rank at or near the top of the national lists.

Moore said Waxman was determined to be successful from the moment she stepped on the Penn campus.

"When I first saw her play as an incoming freshman, I was completely impressed," said Moore, who posted a 8-3 record as a senior at Penn and earned four varsity letters with the Quakers. "She has a wonderful work ethic and worked extremely hard to get where she is."

Waxman said Moore taught her how to harness that work ethic.

"As a goalie, there's one person that's going to play and two or three others competing for that spot," Waxman said. "So you want to be supportive but also competitive. I learned that from Karrie. She taught me about the relationship you have with your teammates."

Moore and Waxman will renew their relationship on Sunday. But for a couple hours, they'll try to forget that they're rooting for each other.

"We're excited to play Colgate, because that's Karrie Moore's team, and we were really hoping we'd get them," said Waxman, who acknowledged that the Quakers were a little upset that they weren't the top seed in the tournament. "The perfect scenario would be that Colgate comes out the hardest they ever have, we come out the hardest we ever have - and we win.

"This is going to be fun. And you don't put in all the time and effort we do and not want to play in fun games."

Said Moore: "In the heat of the game, I'll be OK. But all season, I've been cheering for Penn. I want them to win every, game except when I play them."

Click here for Clare Lochary's breakdown of the NCAA Division I women's lacrosse tournament first-round games.