NEW YORK, N.Y. – An 11-2 second half bolstered the No. 23 University of Pennsylvania women's lacrosse team to a 17-7 thrashing at Columbia on Saturday, kicking off the Ivy League season 1-0 while moving to 3-1 for the season.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Senior Kennon Moon led all scorers with four goals, tying her career mark that she set back in 2021 when the Quakers played a single game against La Salle.
 
*Moon was joined by eight other Quaker scorers, including a hat trick from junior Katelyn Cumiskey on five shots. Of her three goals, she went a perfect 2-for-2 on free-position attempts.
 
*Senior Caitlin Cook, who has missed the past two seasons due to injury, shot back onto the scene on Saturday, scoring two goals. It's her first set of finishes since the 2000 season that was cut short after the fifth game of the season due to the pandemic, a season where she had nine goals before the cancellation.
 
*Sophomores Anna Brandt and Bella Kehoe continued their scoring streak for the fourth straight game each finding the back of the net twice, while Kehoe made it a three-point effort with an assist.
 
*Sophomore Erika Chung continued her stellar start to the season, also extending her scoring streak to four games with a goal, while finishing with a career-high five assists and career-high six points.
 
*Freshman Patricia Columbia-Walsh continues her tear to start her collegiate career, sending out three more assists to bring her season total up to 10. She has a team-leading 13 points for the year, while Chung sits behind her with 12.
 
*Niki Miles, Maria Themelis, and Gracie Smith each scored a goal in the game.
 
*Penn forced the Lions into 24 turnovers, including 10 caused turnovers led by a game-high three by Miles.
 
*Smith had a career-high five ground balls to lead the category, as the Quakers had 24 to the Lions' 16.
 
*The Quakers had a 14-12 edge in the draw game, as sophomore Natasha Gorriaran (6) and Moon (4) combined for 10.
 
*Back in the cage, senior Kelly Van Hoesen secured her third win of the season, making four saves in 60 minutes of work.
 
How It Happened
Brandt kicked off the scoring for the Quakers on a woman-up free-position goal over four minutes into the contest, but the Lions responded on each of the first two goals that Penn put away to draw the game even twice. The same thing happened in a two-minute stretch after Chung sent away a free-position goal, as Columbia knotted it up at 2-2 with 5:44 left in the first.
 
Cook made sure it didn't last long, scoring 41 second later for her first finish since 2020 to give Penn a lead that didn't sway the rest of the way.
 

1Q 5:03 | Penn 3, Columbia 2

CAITLIN COOK! After missing all last season due to injury, the senior finds the back of the net!#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/3W3GLPQV0D

— Penn Women's Lax (@PennWomensLax) March 4, 2023

 
Moon sent home her first two of the game on back-to-back finishes to open the second quarter, but were followed by two straight by the Lions. Cumiskey started the stretch to her hat trick with a free-position goal at the 3:04 mark to slow down the comeback by Columbia, however, the Lions scored once more before the half to give Penn a slim 6-5 advantage to take to the break.
 
Some slight adjustments at the half proved useful for the Quakers, coming out in the final 30 minutes to outscore the Lions, 11-2.
 
Moon completed her hat trick out the gates and the Lions responded, but it ignited a four-goal stretch for Penn that put Columbia in the rearview. Brandt, Kehoe, Cumiskey, and Moon all scored in the run.
 

3Q 1:21 | Penn 11, Columbia 6

Four straight goals for the Quakers! Moon finds the back of the net for the fourth time today and forces the Lions into a timeout.#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/tbD68aW0NA

— Penn Women's Lax (@PennWomensLax) March 4, 2023

 
The Lions scored their last goal of the game to open the final frame, and Penn followed with six straight to closeout the victory.
 
Up Next
The Quakers will spend part of their spring break in the Sunshine State for the first time in program history, traveling to No. 24 Jacksonville next Saturday. First draw is set for noon.