Remembering Penn women's lacrosse's 2013 title run

For Penn women’s lacrosse, 2013 was the same old story. Another Ivy League championship. A seventh consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament. And though the Quakers lost in the first round to Virginia, 12-6, there were plenty of happy memories. Here are the top five:

1. Mangini clinches it

Penn’s matchup against No. 17 Princeton on April 17 was, as expected, a thriller. In a game that saw five separate ties, it took overtime to break a 9-9 deadlock. In the extra session, senior attack Shannon Mangini scored on a free position to ensure Penn a share of the Ivy title for a seventh consecutive season.

“This was definitely a huge win for us,” Mangini said at the time. “We knew coming in that this was for the Ivy title.”

2. Winning in a winter  wonderland

On a surprisingly snowy day at Franklin Field on March 21, the Red and Blue used an epic performance from then-freshman Iris Williamson to escape Vanderbilt. Williamson tallied four goals on the afternoon - including a pair of one-on-one tallies in overtime - establishing herself as one of the Quakers’ top offensive forces in the 14-13 win.

“It’s a combination of doing my homework and having great teammates,” Williamson said of her breakout performance.

3. Revenge is sweet

Heading into the finals of the Ivy League tournament against Dartmouth, Penn had some unfinished business to take care of. In 2012, the Big Green had defeated the Quakers in the finals, 6-4, an embarrassing loss on home turf.

In 2013, the Red and Blue ensured that such a fate would not befall them again.

Senior attack Caroline Bunting led a devastating Penn offensive charge, scoring four goals in a dominant 10-7 win. The Quakers started the scoring on a Maddie Poplawski free position strike just 55 seconds into the game and didn’t look back from there, erasing the demons of 2012’s disappointing late collapse.

4. Bear hunting

Traveling north with a chance to clinch the Ivy title outright, Penn took the kid gloves off against Brown, scoring three times in overtime to overwhe lm the previously stout Bears, 10-7. Seniors Meredith Cain , Maddie Poplawski, and Shannon Mangini each scored in the extra session as Penn was able to celebrate its title - and a perfect Ivy season - in enemy territory.

“It’s a talented league this year. We weren’t playing great at the beginning and struggled to figure out who we were, but we’ve come a long way,” coach Karin Brower Corbett said.

5. Statement at the start

Some people might have thought Penn was vulnerable as it entered its Ivy opener against Harvard. After all, the Quakers had lost their first three games of the season beforehand. It didn’t take long for that narrative to be put to bed.

Iris Williamson scored four goals in the afternoon, as Penn built a 9-0 lead on the Crimson and didn’t look back from there. Then-junior goalkeeper Lucy Ferguson made 14 saves to stave off any semblance of a Harvard rally as the Quakers rolled, 14-5.

A look at Penn men's lacrosse's top 2013 moments

MLL dreams become reality for Penn men's lacrosse's Losco

Feeney returns for one last hurrah with Penn men's lacrosse

Imposing schedules loom for Penn men's and women's lacrosse

30 seconds with ... Ted Rawlings

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.