BALTIMORE, Md. – The nationally ranked University of Pennsylvania women's lacrosse team won its first ranked battle of the season on Wednesday night, edging #16 Loyola Maryland out 12-10.
 
#17 Penn handed the Greyhounds their first loss at Ridley Athletic Complex since 2023, snapping a win streak that stretched for 22 games.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Seniors were the name of the game for Penn's offense as Keeley Block, Anna Brandt, and Gracie Smith all netted hat tricks, with Brandt leading the team with five tallies.
 
*Goalkeeper Orly Sedransk worked hard in the cage, stopping eight of 18 shots faced.
 
*Natasha Gorriaran led the defense on the field, causing two turnovers and winning two draw controls.
 
*The shots in the ranked battle was tight, with Loyola leading overall shots 27-25 and Penn leading in shots goal 22-18.
 
How It Happened
Both goalkeepers stood firm to open the match, as freshman Sedransk stopped two shots within the first three minutes, while Loyola's Lauren Spence held Paige Lipman and Eden Welch off the scoresheet early. Right as five minutes ran off the clock, Gabby Stapleton broke the scoreless tie to give the Greyhounds the lead with ten minutes left of the opening period.
 
Goalkeeper Sedransk made a huge save with 7:17 on the clock, keeping returning First Team All-American Chase Boyle off the board, but the Greyhounds prevailed, adding two more goals to the board, with one coming from the player-up to lead 3-0 with 5:16 remaining in the first. With less than three minutes remaining, senior Block scored her 11th goal of the season to cut the deficit to 3-1 heading into the second.
 
The Quakers opened the second with momentum off of Block's goal, as senior Brandt and sophomore Welch netted goals two minutes in to tie the game at three. Block slammed her second of the night past keeper Spence to give Penn its first lead of the game at 4-3 with 11:45 on the board.
 
The Red and Blue could not be stopped as senior Smith scored the Quakers' fifth unanswered goal off a free position to extend the deficit to a pair with 9:32 left of the first half. The Greyhounds cut the run two minutes later to slash Penn's run. Not even a minute later, Loyola's Boyle tied the game at five with 7:09 remaining in the second. Keeper Sedransk stood strong in her cage to end the half, stopping four shots faced after the game-tying goal to hold the ranked battle at five at the break.
 
The Quakers opened the second half scorning about three minutes into the third, as Smith scored her second to give Penn an early lead. Loyola's Boyle snuck another past the defense to tie the game again. Midfielder Brandt caught a spark a minute later, tallying back-to-back goals to push the lead to 8-6 with 8:36 on the clock.
 
The offensive run continued for the Quakers as Smith scored her third goal of the game and her first hat trick of the year to bump the lead to a trio. Unfortunately, the Greyhounds cut Penn's run and lead to 9-7 with 2:55 left of the third. Right as the period expired, Loyola's Emily Scorcia received a green card to set the Quakers up to open the fourth period as Brandt netted her first free position goal of the year not even 20 seconds in to length the lead to 10-7.
 
The senior class continued to shine as Block slammed in Penn's third hat trick of the battle to push the hole to four goals with 12:12 left in regulation. Brandt continued to stay dominant, scoring her fifth and final goal six minutes later to push the lead to 12-7.
 
The Greyhounds found their footing right after Brandt's goal, scoring three unanswered tallies to put the game at 12-10 with 5:09 left of the fourth. Luckily, the Quaker defense was on point in the final minutes of regulation, keeping Loyola Maryland off the board to give Penn its first top-20 win of the season.
 
Up Next
The Quakers (4-2, 1-0 Ivy League) have a bye next week, returning to Franklin Field on Wednesday, March 26, for a ranked outing against Florida at noon.