Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/15/16
From Press Release
Quakers to the Quarters!
A dominant defensive effort pushed No. 7 Penn past host Towson, 12-4, in the Second Round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament today and into the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2010.
The Red and Blue held Towson to just two goals in the run of play during the game – and those came with under four minutes left in regulation. The first two goals for the Tigers were off free positions in the first half.
The Quakers led, 3-2, with 7:04 remaining in the first half, but put together a defensive stand of 33:08 before the Tigers found the back of the net again with 3:46 remaining in the game. By that time, Penn had scored nine in a row, building a 12-2 lead which was too much to overcome.
The Quakers had to adjust their lineup on the fly late in the first half. Alex Condon picked up her second yellow card of the game while looking to corral a loose ball off a missed Penn shot, but was deemed to have made contact with a Towson player’s head. The second yellow removed her from the game, and a Penn defense which was already without Brooke Kiley for the second game in a row was forced to step up.
While down a player due to the second card on Condon, Megan Kelly (Moorestown) first caused a Towson turnover to run off some time, and Britt Brown made a save as time was running out on the Towson EMU. Off that stop, Brown found Rogers-Healion along at the 50, and started a transition play which led to Catherine Dickinson dishing a pass to Nina Corcoran for a 3-1 Penn lead with 7:42 remaining in the opening half.
Caroline Cummings would score two more for Penn before the first half ended. First she whipped home a free position with 5:12 left in the opening period. 1:20 later, she spun around a defender at the goal line and slipped a shot top corner for the final goal of the first half to send Penn into the break with a 5-2 lead.
Iris Williamson (Germantown Friends) finished with four goals in the game –including a 3-for-3 effort on free position shots. Her first goal of the game was her 100th career goal – just the ninth Quaker to reach that mark.
Caroline Cummings finished with three goals, while Sarah Barcia had two goals and two assists.
Nina Corcoran had a goal and two assists, giving her 85 points this season and 204 for her career – moving into fourth place all-time at Penn.
Kelly paced the defense which was stingy all day, causing two turnovers and picking up two ground balls. Freshman Katy Junior (Radnor) was all over the defensive side, picking up five ground balls while Katie Cromie and Williamson each had two.
Britt Brown made six saves in the win, including two huge stops early in the second half which allowed Penn to continue its big run to an unsurmountable lead.
Penn won twice this weekend, the first time the Quakers have won two games in a Tournament since 2009. The win on Towson’s home field marks Penn’s first-ever win as the road team in a NCAA Tournament game – Penn had been 0-6 in true road games in national tournament play.
The Quakers will play in the Quarterfinals on May 21 at noon against Penn State. The game will take place in Happy Valley.
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