Women's lacrosse breaks four-game losing streak with crucial win over Brown

With just a few more chances to earn a spot in the Ivy Tournament, Penn women’s lacrosse is making the most of its final stretch of games. 

The Quakers (4-8, 1-3 Ivy) defeated Ivy rival Brown (5-6, 2-3) in a 13-7 win on Saturday. The win was Penn’s first since March 19, when the team defeated Georgetown in a road trip to Washington, D.C. The victory broke a four-game skid that had dropped the Red and Blue’s record to 3-8 entering the weekend. 

Brown entered the matchup a few spots ahead of Penn in the Ivy League standings, sitting just outside the top four in the conference. The Bears have been propelled by junior Mia Mascone, whose 26 goals and 33 total points lead the team. Mascone’s efforts have been supplemented by fellow upperclassmen Claire Jeschke and Maggie Fowler. 

While the trio of Mascone, Jeschke, and Fowler has helped Brown in many of its Ancient Eight matchups this season, the Bears’ go-to options struggled to get much offense going, against a sturdy Penn defense. 

Mascone scored a single goal on seven shot attempts, and Jeschke and Fowler added three scores between them. By the end of the afternoon, the Bears mustered just seven goals to the Quakers' 13.

Key in the Quakers’ offensive efforts was a mid-third quarter hot streak that saw the Red and Blue score five consecutive goals. Penn was trailing 6-5 at the start of the run, and when the buzzer sounded to enter the final period of play, the Red and Blue had flipped the script and established a four-goal lead. 

Senior attacker Taylyn Stadler scored the first two goals of the streak and added an assist before her day was finished. Sophomore midfielder phenom Kaitlyn Cumiskey also tallied a goal during the third-quarter run, and she finished the game with two goals on two shots. 

Penn’s biggest performer on the day was sophomore midfielder Maria Themelis. The Manhasset, N.Y. native led the Quakers with three goals on six shots, both of which were career highs. Saturday’s contest with Brown was also the first time that Themelis played the entire game for Penn. 

Themelis was a latecomer in Penn’s on-field plans, with her first appearance this season coming against Georgetown last month. Since that game, Themelis has started each of the Quakers’ other five contests and looks to continue to be a key figure in the lineup. Her Saturday totals bring her to eight goals on the season. 

Keeping turnovers low was a priority for the Red and Blue following their loss to Cornell last week. After turning the ball over 19 times against the Big Red, Penn cut its turnover total down to 13 this week. Penn was also able to attempt six more shots than it did last week, which played a big role in the team improving its goals output. 

As coach Karin Corbett cited after last week’s loss, playing fundamental lacrosse will continue to be the key to Penn finishing out its 2022 season on a hot streak. The Quakers' next test will come on Wednesday when they travel to Princeton, N.J. to face the second-place Tigers.