May 19, 2007

by Andrew Scurria, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online

PHILADELPHIA - Sarah Waxman wasn't exactly a fountain of lacrosse knowledge while she grew up in Washington, D.C. But if there was one thing she was sure about, it was that Maryland was good.

So the Penn goalkeeper could be excused for being a bit star-struck when she realized she would have to overcome the stars she once idolized to reach the NCAA final four this year.

"I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm going to play Maryland,'" she said. "And [teammate] Rachel Manson said to me, 'Sarah, you're going to play Maryland, and you're going to beat Maryland.'"

It took three years, 14 losses, and eventually a 13-game winning streak, but the tables finally turned. Relentless, confident and intelligent, No. 4 Penn held off the fifth-seeded Terrapins 9-7 in an NCAA quarterfinal at Franklin Field on Saturday behind a standout effort from Waxman and five unanswered goals down the stretch.

Penn advances to the semifinals which it hosts next weekend. The Quakers became the first Penn team to reach any final four since the men's lacrosse team did it back in 1988, earning a rematch with top-seeded Northwestern.

They got there by holding the Terps to their second-lowest point total of the season, leaving an unpleasantly surprised Cathy Reese with at least one easy answer for her team's struggles.

"She's an outstanding goalie," the Maryland head coach said. "There were a couple opportunities for momentum changes in the game and there would be a shot, on our part, that seemed to go right to her stick. But I know that's some great goalkeeping as well."

The Terps' task was complicated by a Penn defense that caused a whopping 13 turnovers and won the ground-ball battle by a 15-8 margin, giving the Quakers the possessions they needed to come back.

Maryland took a four-goal lead after just 11 minutes, blitzing the cage and prompting a timeout from head coach Karin Brower.

"Their fast break is the best part of their game," Brower said. "They go really hard and really fast, probably faster than a lot of the teams that we played, and I think we were a little back on our heels."

But Penn got off of them quickly enough - all it took was some patience.

And a little reminiscing.

"We've had two big games where we came from behind, Dartmouth and Syracuse," Brower said. "And so our team knew that if we settled down and played good defense, the shots would start falling."

Penn was also finally able to answer the Terps' rough, physical style with some tough play of its own. The referees issued nine yellow cards overall, of which six went to the Terps, and called 39 fouls, 23 on Maryland.

That helped Penn score two key free-position shots, no small thing against a Maryland defense that looked invincible at first.

"I think in the beginning they made it clear how physical they were, and I think we answered back in the right way," said Chrissy Muller, who had a goal and an assist for Penn. "Just to take care of the ball and [let] them foul us."

The Quakers went into halftime down 5-3, but used goals from five different players to take the lead. After Ali DeLuca fired a short-sided bullet past Terps goalie Allie Buote from the right wing with 9:43 to go, Penn spread out its offense and ate up the clock in a cruel cat-and-mouse game that Maryland never came close to winning.

So in the end, Manson's prediction came true.

"[She told me] they used to be something that was great," Waxman said, "and now we're something that's great."