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There’s going to be a battle for the top spot in the Ivy League on Wednesday, and Penn women’s lacrosse has been tested and is ready to go as it looks to reclaim the title it has held eight of the last nine years.
Ivy League games always pose a threat. Penn women’s lacrosse has already fallen victim to an intra-Ivy upset once this year, and coach Karin Corbett is determined to never let that happen again.
It’s no secret that Penn women’s lacrosse has a roster full of clutch playmakers. But none is more integral to the Quakers’ offense than senior captain Nina Corcoran.
58 seconds was an auspicious number for Penn women’s lacrosse on Sunday.
58 seconds was all it took for senior Iris Williamson to net the Quakers’ (7-3, 1-1 Ivy) first goal at Franklin Field against perennial powerhouse Northwestern, currently ranked eighth in the country.
It’s time for another battle of top women’s lacrosse programs at Franklin Field. Penn women’s lacrosse will play host to Northwestern in the teams’ ninth head-to-head in the past eight seasons.
No matter the team, it is commonplace to worry about the potential for trap games. Regardless of the opponent’s record, an Ivy League contest is a battle with a rival, and wins never come easy.
You should never dig a hole that you can’t crawl out of. Unfortunately for Penn women’s lacrosse, the hole that they dug for themselves in the first part of Wednesday’s game was just a bit too deep.
The No. 14 Quakers squared off with the top team in the nation under the lights at Franklin Field, falling to Maryland by a score of 12-8 in a game that appeared to be a comfortable win for the Terrapins (7-0) until about 10 minutes in to the second half.
With 21:16 to play in the second half, senior attacker Iris Williamson fired in a free position shot — her fourth goal of the game — to bring Penn’s deficit down to just one, 7-6.
However, that would be the closest No. 13 Penn women’s lacrosse would get down the stretch against No. 10 Duke as the Blue Devils closed the game on a 5-0 run to cap off a 12-6 win.
For Penn women’s lacrosse, it is time to write a new story. Last year’s once in a lifetime senior class is gone and their departure came without renewing Penn’s claim on the Ivy League championship.
After losing a talented senior class featuring three All-Americans coming in to the year, some were doubting that Penn women’s lacrosse could see the same success this year that they had before.
Performing under the weight of expectations is no easy task. Just ask Penn women’s lacrosse.
Heading into the 2015 season, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Quakers would end the season with an Ivy League Championship.
But now, Ferguson’s 2015 graduation leaves a gaping hole in the net as Penn women’s lacrosse seeks to bounce back from a disappointing season in which saw the Quakers fail to win the Ivy League for the first time since 2006.