PHILADELPHIA – The 12th-ranked University of Pennsylvania women's lacrosse team piled up 41 shots on Wednesday night, dominating the stat sheet, but left Penn Park with an 11-9 defeat of Rutgers.
First-year head coach Melissa Lehman made her return to University City, where she helped the Quakers rack up 10 total Ivy League titles during her time as a player and then as an assistant coach.
Penn outshot the Scarlet Knights 41-20, led by Erin Barry's 11, but Alonna Gliksman stood up to the challenge, making 15 saves in between the pipes for Rutgers. Freshman Kelly Van Hoesen secured her first career victory in net for the Quakers, making a handful of saves as well.
PENN NEWS AND NOTES
*Penn's 41 shots are the most in a game since way back in April of 2018 when the Quakers demolished Harvard 24-13.
*Kelly Van Hoesen secured her first career collegiate victory in goal, making five saves on the night.
*The Quakers allowed just 20 shots and only 14 on target, both season lows.
*Penn has won the draw control battle in each of the three games this season, clinching it 14-8 on Wednesday night.
*Penn is 3-0 for the fourth consecutive season.
*The Quakers are now 5-for-18 this season on free-position shots after going 1-for-5 against Rutgers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn threw the first punch of the game, just 1:48 into the first half as Taylyn Stadler buried the game's first goal, one of her three scores on the evening. Rutgers didn't take long to answer, just 1:14 later to level the game at 1-1. In fact, Penn and Rutgers took turns for the first five goals of the contest before Erin Barry followed Caitlin Cook's goal to make it 4-2 in favor of the Red and Blue. Cook's goal was off a quick first step after she caught the ball running to her left, put her foot in the turf, changed direction and unleashed a shot into the left corner of the net.
After Barry's free-position goal, Rutgers cut the lead in half with 5:37 remaining in the first, trimming Penn's advantage to 4-3, but then Barry added her second of the game with less than a minute to play before the break to take a 5-3 halftime lead.
The second half began just as the first ended, with a goal from Barry inside a minute. Her third of the night allowed Penn to double up Rutgers at 6-3.
The Scarlet Knights, however, countered with a flurry of their own. Playing under first-year head coach Melissa Lehman, a former Penn player and assistant coach, combining for 10 total Ivy League titles during her time as a Quaker, Rutgers buried three straight goals to equalize the affair at 6-6 with just under 13 minutes left.
Just as Rutgers leveled the game, though, Penn fought back with another goal from Stadler just 28 seconds after the Scarlet Knights' latest tally.
The Quakers put together three goals within 5:53 as Stadler sandwiched Gabby Rosenzweig's score, allowing the Red and Blue to build some separation at 9-6 with 6:38 to go.
Down the stretch, Rutgers scored three times in the final 5:15, but Penn goals from Rosenzweig and Elyse Decker sealed the 11-9 victory.
UP NEXT?
Penn hits the road for an early season Ivy League contest on Saturday in New Haven to take on Yale.
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