April 23, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 17 Penn State women's lacrosse team (8-5, 1-3 ALC) will close out conference play this weekend when it faces off with rival Johns Hopkins (8-6, 1-2 ALC) in a pivotal ALC showdown on Sun., April 25 at 1 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.
With the ALC Championship looming just two weeks, the game is critical for both teams in terms of seeding for the postseason tournament. Penn State is currently locked in a three-way tie in the conference standings with Ohio State and Florida. The Gators wrap up ALC play on May 2 with a match-up with No. 2 Northwestern in Evanston while Johns Hopkins and Ohio State will clash on the same day in Baltimore in each team's conference finale.
The Nittany Lions used a strong second half effort to secure their first ALC win of the season and its fourth straight against Ohio State, downing the Buckeyes, 18-12, in Columbus last weekend. Senior Theresa Bucci (Hudson, Ohio) led Penn State with four goals while freshman Hayley Sofarnos (Williamstown, Australia) had a career-day by tallying five assists and senior Erica Mihm (Annapolis, Md.) netted a hat trick in addition to recording eight draw controls. Sofarnos and Mihm received weekly honors from the American Lacrosse Conference for their standout performances.
Johns Hopkins will venture to Happy Valley coming off a long layoff since playing its last game, an 11-7 road defeat to Northwestern on April 16. Sophomore Candace Rossi is the Blue Jays' top weapon, as she leads the team in goals (30), assists (14), and points (44). However, Colleen McCaffrey (25g, 8a), Paige Ibello (25g, 3a), and Sam Schrum (16g, 12a) are also offensive threats. Johns Hopkins relies on freshman goalkeeper Cosette Larash to anchor the defense. Starting all 13 games this season, she possesses a 9.95 goals against average and a .449 save percentage.
Penn State owns a 6-2 record in the all-time series with Johns Hopkins. On the strength of four goals from Erica Mihm, three scores by Theresa Zichelli (Severna Park, Md.), and three assists by Marisa Lozano (Pittsburgh, Pa.), the Nittany Lions snapped a two-game losing streak to the Blue Jays last year, edging JHU, 12-11, in Baltimore.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Johns Hopkins clash with live stats and instant scoring updates from GameTracker or with a live video webcast from Jeffrey Field. Find links on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
The Nittany Lions will be back in action next weekend when they welcome non-conference foe Temple (7-7) to Jeffrey Field for a 3 p.m. Senior Day contest on Sat., May 1. Seniors Theresa Bucci, Stephanie Ellis (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), Margo Josephs (Reisterstown, Md.), Marisa Lozano, and Erica Mihm will take the field for their final home regular season game in a Penn State uniform. A special ceremony to honor their careers and contributions will precede the contest.
Penn State holds a winning 15-13 all-time record versus Temple but fell to the Owls, 8-7, in the teams' last meeting in 2008 in Philadelphia.