With 14 seconds remaining and the score tied at North Carolina, Penn senior attacker Melissa Lehman made one final drive to the goal.
She reared back and ripped off a shot. The ball bounced its way into the corner of net, giving Lehman a hat trick and the Penn women's lacrosse team an 8-7 win Saturday.
The victory over No. 6 North Carolina (4-1) proved that last season was no fluke for the No. 8 Quakers (2-0) - something the pollsters may have believed when they dropped Penn two spots in the rankings after a lackluster win over Drexel last week.
It's their eighth win over a ranked opponent since the start of the 2007 season, and 11th since 2006.
In their first match ever against UNC, the Quakers looked strong. Their defense dictated the pace and held the Tar Heels' explosive offense in check.
"We created the game tempo and didn't allow them to have any fast-breaks on offense," coach Karin Brower said.
Down 7-6 with just over three minutes left, Penn's Kaitlin Farmer picked off a UNC pass, swing momentum to the Quakers.
"Farmer's interception started the fast-break that won the game," Brower said.
Sophomore Ali DeLuca relayed Farmer's interception to junior Becca Edwards who notched her third goal of the game, to tie it with just over three minutes remaining in regulation.
Brower called a timeout after Edwards' goal to discuss strategy in the final minutes of the game.
"We came up with the draw control and ran out the clock so that we could take the last shot," Lehman said of Brower's instructions during the timeout.
DeLuca's two draw controls within the game's closing minutes helped Penn secure the win.
"I just kept repeating - I have to get this draw," the superstitious DeLuca said.
She got it and Brower's plan was put into action. UNC could only look on in the final minutes as the Quakers ran down the clock, waiting to take the game-winning shot.
Finally, when there was not enough time left for UNC to take another shot before the end of regulation, Lehman made her move.
According to DeLuca, those last thirty seconds were "unreal" for the Quakers, who entered Saturday's game as an underdog against previously undefeated UNC.
"A lot of people didn't think we had a chance . it was just great to overcome that," Deluca said.
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