Earlier this week St. Joseph’s announced its men’s basketball opponents, although no times or dates were released. Two things are worth noting for Quaker fans. First off, as you might remember from this DP article, all of the Hawks 2008-09 home games will be played at the Palestra. So there’s a good chance college basketball’s cathedral will be home to multiple games a day come winter.

But more importantly, a familiar foe of Penn will be visiting the Palesta twice this year. Cornell, yes the very same defending-Ivy League champions, will face St. Joe’s at the Palestra. I’d personally be surprised if Penn coach Glen Miller isn’t in attendance scouting the Big Red, assuming of course Penn doesn’t have a game of its own that day.

So as for you Penn fans, are you going to try to watch the Big Red in the Palestra before they take on the Quakers? I wonder when was the last time a non-Big 5 team visited the Palestra during the regular season to play two different teams. I’m sure it’s happened before.

NB: I found this news from former DP writer Jonnathan Tannenwald’s college sports blog, Soft Pretzel Logic. I strongly suggest you check it out since it’s clearly the best professional blog about college sports in the Philly region.

FINAL NORTHWESTERN 10 PENN 6

The game ends with Penn hanging onto the ball for the last six minutes of the game give or take. The dream season is over for the Quakers, but they are the second best team in the nation, still nothing to sneeze out.

NU meanwhile is now the four-time National Champion.

3:31 Penn 6 NU 10
Penn just can’t get the ball. They had a great chance to do so, but they couldn’t come up with the grounball. Instead Nielsen gets the ball, runs around the back of the net, gets hit on the head, yet keeps going and then scores the wrap around. That might clinch it for the Wildcats.
5:22 Penn 6 NU 9

Northwestern calls its last timeout. Can Penn comeback and win? Yes. Will they? It’s not looking too good.

6:43 Penn 6 NU 9

Northwestern is just running out the clock it seems, and a timeout is called. The PA announcer says that tonight’s attendance is 6,125, a new record for an NCAA championship game. In the press box someone just announced that Lanthrop’s 11 saves are a season-high.

8:26 Penn 6 NU 9

One Penn shot sails high, and then another hits off the post. Those two might decide the game.

11:04 Penn 6 NU 9

A Penn goal is called off because of a foul called before the play. Too bad you can’t decline the penalty. Lanthrop saves the ensuing penalty.

11:30 Penn 6 NU 9

Nielsen decides to do some scoring of her own, earning her second goal of the night off a Frank pass.

13:43 Penn 6 NU 8
Lanthrop makes her first mistake of the night. Going for a loose ball, she doesn’t come up with possession, but guess who does? Penn’s Rachel Manson. She shoots it into the empty net, and Penn’s within two.

14:45 Penn 5 NU 8

Manson gets a great stick-check, then she draws a foul, drawing boos from the Northwestern fans. There’s a media timeout, and Penn will get possession once the game get back under way. They really need to score here.

15:20 Penn 5 NU 8
Senior Melissa Lehman gets a free-position for Penn, but the high shot is saved by Lanthrop.

16:00 Penn 5 NU 8

Penn gets that stop.

17:11 Penn 5 NU 8

Penn turns it over after coming close to getting off a shot. A quick defensive stop is their top priority.

18:07 Penn 5 NU 8

DeLuca gets her second goal of the game.

20:21 Penn 4 NU 8

Kocis gets a bouncing goal that’s unassisted.

20:52 Penn 3 NU 8

A media timeout is called, as Penn will have possession from behind the NU goal after the break. Penn hasn’t done any of the things I said it had to do to win. Things just aren’t looking too good.

22:36 Penn 3 NU 8

Before I can even finish writing the previous entry, Kristin Finch scores her second goal of the year for NU. This is Penn’s largest deficit faced all year. They trailed by four twice before this game. Penn coach Karin Brower calls her team’s first timeout.

22:57 Penn 3 NU 7

The nearly-unstoppable combination of Nielsen to Bowen strikes yet again, as Bowen earns the hat trick off yet another bouncing shot. Four goals is going to be a tough margin to overcome with the lack of defensive stops.

24:08 Penn 3 NU 6

Bowen shoots low and Waxman can’t get a save. It’s the Rochester, N.Y. native’s 80th goal of the year. The Wildcats refuse to let the Quakers get within one.

25:25 Penn 3 NU 5

Spiro earns a free-position shot and then scores in the top right corner.

26:08 Penn 2 NU 5

Another save by Lanthrop. She’s got my theoretical vote for MVP.

27:27 Penn 2 NU 5

A crease violation is called against NU, waving off a goal. Penn then does get a clear. About time.

28:40 Penn 2 NU 5
Bowen gets called with a charge, yet Penn can’t get the clear. Uh oh

Halftime Penn 2 NU 5

At least it’s not as bad as it was last year. In last year’s Final Four matchup Penn trailed 8-0 at the half. Well today they’re down only 5-2, and in fact they trailed the Wildcats back on April 27 when Penn eventually won. However, they were only down two at 7-5, and in fact had scored the last goal of the half. Tonight, however, Northwestern is the one with momentum at the break. Lanthrop’s save at the buzzer was critical, as it clearly gave the Wildcats some momentum.

Looking at the stat sheet, Northwestern isn’t quite as dominant as I had thought. Although they are dominating two key stats (they lead in shots 13-7 and draw controls 5-3), they have only one more groundball (7-6), and have equaled Penn in saves (5) and clears (5-7). Furthermore, they have more fouls than Penn (7-5), more turnovers (9-7) and a worse free-position shot percentage (0-1 vs 1-3). Yet the one area that they’re dominating in is time of possession. Unfortunately the NCAA does not track that stat, but I’d venture a guess that Penn has only had the ball for seven minutes out of the first 30.

What must Penn do to win? It’s pretty clear: They must win the draws and keep hammering in shots against Lanthrop. So far the junior goalkeeper has been pretty dominant, but she did give up 11 goals to Penn the first time the two teams played. And on the defensive end, Penn must be consistent at getting clears. Yes they were 5-7 in the first, but both of those bothced clears led to goals. Take those two off the board, and this game clearly could be Penn’s.

That said, Penn can’t give up all hope. In all of Penn’s close games they seem to have a poor half a great one. Considering against NU the first time they were outscored 7-5 in the first, then blanketed the Wildcats 6-0 in the second, Penn clearly could come out here and win (though I doubt they’ll shut out the Wildcats). That said, winning still will be hard. In just 30 (game) minutes we’ll know whether Penn has done this tall task.

:00 Penn 2 NU 5

Here’s another stat Penn has been poor at: groundballs. It seems that any 50-50 ball is going NU’s way, and any that Penn actually comes up with was only after Penn had dropped the ball.

Meredith Frank scores for NU, yet again pushing the NU lead to three.

Penn senior Rachel Manson is fouled as the buzzer sounds, but the refs add a second on. She gets a free position shot. Lanthrop saves it, however. She’s clearly been a top player tonight.
3:41 Penn 2 NU 4

DeLuca shoots but gets shutdown by Lanthrop.

6:08 Penn 2 NU 4
Penn causes another turnover yet can’t capitalize off of a Chelsea Kocis pass that gets broken up.

7:26 Penn 2 NU 4

Penn finally gets a shot off, as sophomore Emma Spiro gets a shot off, but it doesn’t go far, as Sara Harrington hits Spiro’s stick at the release point. After a turnover on either side Penn’s Kaitlyn Lombardo gets a free position shot from directly at the top of the eight meter crease. And she fires a great shot to the top shelf. One-third of Northwestern’s lead is cut.

11:28 Penn 1 NU 4

Penn keeps turning it over/not finishing clears. And this dooms them as Nielsen gets yet another assist by passing to Katrina Dowd. Dowd grabs the pass directly in front of Waxman and rips off a shot. And just like that Penn finds itself down by three.

13:51 Penn 1 NU 3
NU goalkeeper Morgan Lanthrop gets a nice save off an Allison Ambrozy free position shot.

16: 10 Penn 1 NU 3

Bowen gets another goal off a great pass from Nielsen. Immediately following, NU gets yet another draw. Guess what, Penn’s back on defense. They need a stop. Well they get one since there’s an offensive foul on Danielle Spencer.

18:34 Penn 1 NU 2

Nice save by Waxman. Penn’s still playing too much defense. NU’s offensive philosophy has clearly been to shield the Penn defenders by screening a lot of their top options such as Nielsen and Bowen.
20:08 Penn 1 NU 2

Bowen gets a great pass to a wide-open Meghan Plunkett who scorches it straight into the goal. Just like against Duke, Penn has let an early 1-0 lead disappear.

21:36 Penn 1 NU 1 (Media Timeout)

Goalkeeper Waxman makes a great save, but the Quakers can’t get the clear. So far in eight-plus minutes Penn has been on defense for the majority. With the potent NU offense, any more time in the Quakers’ third and the Wildcats are bound to run up the score. Penn must improve on its clears.

25:23 Penn 1 NU 1

NU’s Hilary Bowen gets a free position shot but misses. Good news for Penn, who gave up several free-position goals on Friday. But NU keeps possession. Eventually Hannah Nielsen rips a shot while sprinting around the edge of the crease to avoid Penn’s Tarah Kirnan. Sarah Waxman can’t save it, and Northwestern has now equalized the game.

28:58 left in first half Penn 1 Northwestern 0

Penn got the first draw, which clearly bodes well for this all-important stat. And after turning it over, the Quakers get it back. Sophomore Ali DeLuca sprint down the field and shoot a left-handed shot down low for the game’s opening tally.

Welcome yet again to the 2008 NCAA Division-I Women’s Lacrosse Tournament from Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md. Today’s final pits the No. 2 Penn Quakers (17-1) against the top-seeded Northwestern Wildcats (20-1). In case you didn’t get a chance to do so already, you can read my preview of tonight’s game right here.

It’s been quite the journey for the women’s lacrosse team, who had a decent 10-6 record in 2006 and then made the Final Four last year with a record of 16-1 before getting demolished by the Wildcats in the national semifinal. This year saw even higher levels of success, as the squad beat the Wildcats 11-7, earned its first ever national No. 1 ranking, and made it to the National Championship game for the first time ever.

In fact they’re the first Penn team to make it to an NCAA final. So this game clearly is one of the biggest games in Penn athletics history. As such the Penn Athletics administration is in full show today. Athletic Director Steve Bilsky shared an elevator with me, even complementing the DP’s coverage of the team. And for the first time this season, all four of the Athletic Communications personnel are in attendance at a Penn sporting event. I’ve also been told that several Penn coaches are in attendance, including volleyball coach Kerry Carr, softball coach Leslie King and women’s track coach Gwen Harris, although I’ll admit I didn’t have time to look for them in the stands.

Of course Penn Athletics representatives aren’t the only ones here. There is quite a crowd, although I’d say Northwestern probably has more fans than Penn does. Even if that’s not actually true, it certainly appears so since Northwestern fans are much better at one thing than Penn: dressing in the same colors. All Northwestern fans are wearing purple, so there’s a sea of purple on one side of the field. Even though the other side of the field is clearly made up of Penn supporters, they’re not wearing a solid blue or red, so it’s not as visually impressive. Regardless, I’m sure it’ll be a loud crowd for both teams.

As I have several times this season, I’ll provide in-game updates of the match, but again I’m limited by NCAA regulations to only six times a half, plus once at halftime. Of course on Friday I was a little lax (no pun intended) about that during the game’s crazy final 10 minutes. So I’ll try to follow the rules better today. But no guarantees, NCAA Media Enforcement Bureau, or whoever it is that monitors blogs.

(Before reading my preview for the Championship game, feel free to read my recap of the Final Four game).

The Penn women’s lacrosse team is an outstanding 33-3 in the last two seasons.

But that record is only the second-best one since the start of the 2007 campaign.

Instead Northwestern, who is an astonishing 41-2 in that span (and 82-3 over the last four years), has been the best team of the last two years.

So when these two squads face off for the NCAA championship tonight at 7 p.m. in Towson University’s Johnny Unitas Stadium, it clearly will be a matchup between the two most dominant teams of the last two years of women’s lacrosse.

Add to this the fact that three of the teams’ combined fives losses in that span have come at the hands of the other squad, and you get two teams that are chomping at the bit to face each other.

“Everything seems surreal,” Penn senior Allison Ambrozy said. “They are the one team that’s really blemished our success in the last few years. They’re the three time national champions. I wouldn’t want to play anyone else for the title.

“We’re so happy to play them again. Wouldn’t it be the greatest thing if we gave them their only two losses [of the season] like they did to us last year.

In the teams’ previous five matches, the No. 1 Wildcats (20-1) won four of them by a combined score of 55-20, including a 12-2 demolishing in last year’s Final Four at Franklin Field.

But the No. 2 Quakers (17-1) reversed the trend in the most recent game. The Quakers won 11-7 at home April 27, as the Penn defense shut out the Wildcats for the last 35 minutes of the game.

Beating Northwestern “definitely gives you confidence,” Penn coach Karin Brower said. “But they’re ready to avenge the loss. Yet it does give us confidence since not many teams have been able to beat them the last four years. ”

Despite beating the Wildcats the last time out, Penn still realizes Northwestern is favored tonight.

“I don’t think you feel the pressure,” Brower said. “We’re the underdogs, no question. We like being in this position.”

Ambrozy believes that tonight’s game will see a refocused Northwestern team ready to dish out some payback for its sole loss of the year.

“They’ll come out with a little bit more fire,” the midfielder said. “They haven’t been able to crack our defense. They’ll be more ready for that … I’m guessing they’re a little pissed off.”

Even if Northwestern was not the opponent, this would be a tremendously important game for the Penn team. In fact, this game might be the biggest game in the history of the Penn Athletics. If the Quakers were to win, it would be the first team NCAA title a Penn program has ever won.

“It’s amazing,” Ambrozy said. “It’s everything we’ve been looking forward to. It feels great. It’s a very rewarding thing.”

(NB: I’d just like to reemphasize what Andrew said yesterday. This game, in my opinion, is the biggest game in Penn Athletics history since the men’s basketball team faced Michigan State in the 1979 Final Four, if not of all time. So it clearly is a must-watch for any Penn fan. I know this is late notice, but tickets still remain. It’s about a two hour drive from Philadelphia to Towson (a Baltimore suburb), and only an hour-long one from D.C. If you cannot make it, CSTV will cover it, as will pennathletics.com on the radio and myself on this blog. Simply put, this is a huge game for Penn Athletics, so do your best to follow along.)

END OF GAME. DUKE 8 PENN 9
IT’S OVER PENN WINS!!!!! FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY PENN IS GOING TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. THEY’LL PLAY NORTHWESTERN ON SUNDAY FOR THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

:42 Duke 8 Penn 9

:45 a foul is called on Duke, and Giulia Giordano has a free position. SHE PASSES IT OFF TO RACHEL MANSON WHO SCORES!

End of first OT period Duke 8 Penn 8

Waxman gets a great low save at :25, but takes the rest of OT to get it away. That’s her seventh save of the night.

END OF REGULATION Duke 8 Penn 8

Penn had the ball for the last 45 seconds, but its only shot was wide and high.

Here’s how OT works. There are two, three-minute periods. Both are played to their full length regardless of how many goals are or aren’t scored. So it is not sudden death.

I’ve seen over 20 women’s lacrosse games in my two years covering the team, and this game is without a doubt the most nerve-wracking I’ve ever watched. Regardless of the outcome it’ll be a sweet finish. (This isn’t hurt by the fact that “Baba O’Reily” is being played over the PA system.)

1:00 Duke 8 Penn 8

A delayed penalty called on Penn. On the ensuing free position shot Gilbride scores. 60 seconds will determine this final four game.

1:25 Duke 7 Penn 8

A Duke shot goes past goal. But Duke keeps possession. Davis fumbles it, but they regain possession. Kimel takes her last timeout. 85 seconds to go.

3:14 Duke 7 Penn 8

Penn turns it over. Duke will have plenty of time to tie it up.

5:40 Duke 7 Penn 8

Lehman drives down the center of the crease and scores her third of the game. Penn leads for the first time since 2:52 into the first. A stick check was called on Lehman, but the refs hold it up. Four-thirds of the Duke’s lead is cut.

6:57 Duke 7 Penn 7

A media timeout is called. Penn had lost possession of the ball and Duke started charging up the field. But Ambrozy got some payback, causing Duke’s Christina Germinario to turn it over. A foul is then called as Penn now has possession.

10:25 Duke 7 Penn 7

Chelsea Kocis takes it, shoots, but gets blocked by Imbesi. No foul called, though there was contact.

11:38 Duke 7 Penn 7

An Ambrozy shot goes wide. But soon after sophomore Ali DeLuca takes a low-angle shot, tying the game up. Three-thirds of Duke’s lead is cut. Kimel calls her team’s second of three timeouts.

12:56 Duke 7 Penn 6

On the ensuing draw control Ambrozy gets the draw. Penn’s back on offense, taking its time despite the deficit. Lombardo takes another shot, but it’s off the crossbar. Later on Melissa Lehman takes a bounce shot and it hits the back of the net. Two-thirds of the Duke’s lead is cut.

A media timeout is called.

15:08 Duke 7 Penn 5

Kaitlyn Lombardo takes a Giordano pass and rips it into the goal. One-third of Duke’s lead is cut.

18:05 Duke 7 Penn 4

Davis drives around the lower left side of the field, beats her defender, and gets her fifth goal of the game. Yes there’s plenty of time left, but Duke then gets the draw control. Things just aren’t looking good for Penn.

19:34 Duke 6 Penn 4.

Waxman gets a few saves, yet bobbles all of them as she just couldn’t get possession of the ball. The All-Ivy selection just isn’t looking too sharp today. A media timeout is called, which has to be a relief to these Quakers. They haven’t come out looking to hot here, and Duke has been dominating possession this half. The Quakers must get a stop.

22:34 Duke 6 Penn 4
The refs call yet another foul against Penn. Of the free position shot, Davis scores her fourth of the night, her 60th of the season. Brower takes a timeout.

The foul disparity has now reached 14-5 in Duke’s favor.

23:09 Duke 5 Penn 4
Katie Mazer gets a yellow card and must sit for the next three minutes. However Penn can sub.

25:00 Duke 5 Penn 4

Duke scores, as Davis gets another goal — her third — despite the ball trickling past Sarah Waxman. For a second the refs discussed whether it was a legal goal, but they did allow it.

26:03 Duke 4 Penn 4

Giordano scores off a pass from senior Chelsea Kocis. It’s her 20th of the year. It’s the first goal since 18:54 left in the first.

28:16 Duke 4 Penn 3

Great kick save by Imbesi of senior Allison Ambrozy.

HALFTIME: DUKE 4 PENN 3

Well for only the third time this year Penn find itself down going into the second. So far the Quakers are 2-1 in such situations, overcoming a 4-2 deficit at Cornell to win 7-6 and a 7-5 disadvantage to beat Northwestern 11-7. They couldn’t surpass Stanford’s 5-2 halftime lead, falling 10-8. So for them to come back down one at the break is certainly not unthinkable.

But for them to do so they must do a better job containing the Duke offense. Yes they’ve only given up four goals. But considering they average only six goals allowed, they’re not doing as great of a job as they normally do on the defensive end. They gave up 10 shots, while only getting eight of their own. This includes letting Duke go 2-3 on free position shots. In return the Quakers are getting frustrated, as they’ve committed nine fouls vs. Duke’s three. Finally, I know Coach Karin Brower always stresses draw controls. So she’s clearly not happy her squad has been outdrawn 5-3.

This first five minutes of the second could make or break the game. If Penn comes out strong and scores a few quick goals, they might not relinquish the lead again. But if they come out uninspired and Duke scores first, this Penn squad better shape up quickly, or else they’ll see another great season come to a bitter close. In 30 (game) minutes we’ll find out which scenario it is. Stick around.

0:00 Duke 4 Penn 3.

Right at the buzzer Waxman makes a great save off a Jess Adams shot preventing the Blue Devils from increasing their lead. Maybe the Quakers can use this to get some momentum, as they’ll need to come back in the second if they want to advance to the National Championship game Sunday.

1:52 Duke 4 Penn3

Great save by Imbesi on a Manson shot.

4:28 Duke 4 Penn 3

Kaitlyn Lombardo gets decked by two Duke players. But on the free position she runs away from goal.

6:01 Duke 4 Penn 3

Great save by Waxman, although she doesn’t maintain possession. But Penn gets the groundball.

12:06 Duke 4 Penn 3

Senior Melissa Lehman scores off of a scorcher from about eight feet out. Penn’s now within one.

13:55 Duke 4 Penn 2

Waxman gets a key save, maybe getting back some confidence after giving up four early goals.

15:20 Duke 4 Penn 2

Off a free position shot Duke’s Lindsay Gilbride gets her 38th goal of the year. Penn’s strategy of holding onto the ball for as long as possible to get the best possible shot might backfire if they fall behind by too much more. They need to get a stop right here.

17:30 Duke 3 Penn 2

After a timeout, Penn clears, then holds onto the ball for a solid few minutes. This has been Penn’s standard attack: slow and deliberate offense. Penn finally gets off some shots, but freshman Giulia Giordano is stopped by Duke goalie Kim Imbesi twice.

23:31 Duke 3 Penn 2

Yet another goal by Davis, this time a low-angle shot, one that Penn goalkeeper Sarah Waxman seemed surprise she even took.

25:17 Duke 2 Penn 2

Sophomore Emma Spiro gets an unassisted goal to tie it back up.

26:26 Duke 2 Penn 1

Penn’s Ali DeLuca gets beat by Sarah Bullard, giving the Blue Devils their first lead of the game.

27:18 Penn 1 Duke 1

Carolyn Davis gets a goal off of a free position shot after Penn senior Tarah Kirnan fouls her. The game is all square at one.

29:00 left in the first half Penn 1 Duke 0.

The Quakers win the opening draw, and set up their deliberate offense. And at 29:00 mark senior Rachel Manson scores the first goal of the game. Senior Allison Ambrozy earns the assist.

Welcome back to the second leg of the Final Four from Johnny Unitas Stadium at Towson University, as No. 2 Penn (16-1) takes on unseeded Duke (13-7). The winner will get Northwestern, who dominated Syracuse 16-8, including scoring nine unanswered in the second half. (When asked in the postgame press conference “what if it’s Penn?” in the National Championship game, NU coach Kelly Amonte-Hiller refused to answer the question.)

Penn, as the higher seed is wearing its home whites, and Duke is wearing a mix of its black and blue. Unfortunately, I’m limited on how often I can post Buzz updates, so I’ll only post every five minutes give or take.

Final Northwestern 16 Syracuse 8

The Wildcats dominated the second half, scoring nine straight before Syracuse got two late goals. If it’s any solace, the Orange did do better than their previous game against Northwestern, when they lost 19-7.

7:37 left: Northwestern 15 Syracuse 6.

In some ways you could say this is the opposite of NU’s Final Four game last year. In that game they outscored Penn 8-0 in the first half, and 4-2 in the second. Today they went up 7-6 vs. the Orange at half, but have now gone on an incredible 8-0 run to pretty much clinch a spot in Sunday’s national championship game.

There is a plane flying above Johnny Unitas Stadium that has a message attached to its tail: “DUKE WLAX NEVER NEVER NEVER GIVE IN!” Certain words come to mind, but I don’t think I can post them on this blog.

Halftime of the NU-SU semifinal: Northwestern 7 Syracuse 6

This game has been pretty back and forth. It appeared Northwestern had seized the momentum in the last few minutes as it went up by two, but Syracuse junior Megan Mosenson scored a great goal right as she was hit with 1:53 left.

Looking around the stadium, the south half of the stands are near capacity, with the majority of them Northwestern fans. However, the north side of the stadium is only about half-filled, including the Syracuse fan section. Overall I’d say there’s a smaller crowd then there was for last year’s Final Four hosted at Franklin Field.

If you’re into fight songs/college athletics atmosphere, you’d be happy. Despite none of the bands showing up, the PA system does play the scoring school’s fight song after every goal.

Welcome to Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md., for the Final Four of the Division I Women’s Lacrosse NCAA tournament. No. 2 Penn (16-1) will play unseeded Duke (13-7) in the second semifinal tonight at 8:30 p.m. Right now No.1 Northwestern (19-1) is playing No. 5 Syracuse (18-2) in the first semifinal of the night, a matchup that pits the first- and third-ranked offenses in the nation.

That game started off to a blistering start, as two goals were scored in the first 2:30 minutes. However the next 15 minutes only saw two goals total. After that the scoring picked back up, and now the score stands at 5-4 Orange with 7:43 to go. Northwestern clearly isn’t going to coast to its fourth straight National Championship.

Update: Here’s a preview I posted online for Uwire.com

I’ve been away for the last few days, so I haven’t been able to write a standard preview for the women’s lacrosse game today between No. 2 Penn (16-1) and unseeded Duke (13-7) in the Final Four. First draw is at 8:30 p.m. from Towson University’s Johnny Unitas Stadium. The winner will face the team that advances from the No. 1 Northwestern-No. 5 Syracuse semifinal at 6 p.m.

Instead, I’ll have some select quotes from Penn coach Karin Brower from a press conference held Tuesday with the Final Four coaches. Many members of the national media were more interested in Brower’s view of Northwestern than anything else. Also I’ll compare the key stats for both sides.

Brower On being back in the Final Four: Well we’re very excited to be back at the Final Four for the second straight year. We have a great group of seniors who have been exceptional leaders all year and we’re excited to be playing Duke.

On beating Northwestern: Northwestern plays a different defense then everyone else, so you really can’t play your normal offense against them. They don’t let you set up the draw, or let you relax and get around and into typical plays. They’re constantly doubling you. You need a few weeks to prepare and be composed.

On the job Northwestern Coach Kelly Amonte-Hiller has done: I think Kelly has done an exceptional job of getting the Northwestern players to have confidence in themselves. That was the toughest thing for me here at Penn, for a team that would keep losing in a tough conference. It was about getting kids to believe that they really can win. And I think Kelly has done great job with that, as her kids play with so much confidence.

On Penn winning in the Ivy League: I think when I came here the team had been losing pretty badly to the Princetons, the Dartmouths. We had to get kids that are exceptionally motivated, and get them to believe. We got some of those kids in place [now] that are just workers, maybe they have a little chip in their shoulders.

On Penn not getting respect: We haven’t gotten any respect in years past. Like last year we weren’t even ranked in the preseason polls, but teams we had beaten the year before were ranked ahead of us. Our kids said we’re better than that, and they proved that.

On making Penn good again: When I came to Penn… they had dropped a little bit. I hoped to bring Penn up to the tradition of excellence they used to have.

On becoming a dynasty: We’d love the opportunity to play in the Championship Game, whether it’s against Syracuse or Northwestern. If we win then great. But lacrosse is growing, and every school is getting better. What Northwestern has done is incredible. It’d be a tough thing to follow.

Stats: Duke is 2-0 all-time against Penn. They played a home-and-home in 2002 and 2003, with the Blue Devils winning the first match 13-7 at home and then again 15-5 at Franklin Field in 2003.

Like most of Penn’s opponents this year, Duke averages more goals per game than the Quakers, scoring 13.55 per match. The Quakers meanwhile only average 10.59. But of course Penn’s defense is its biggest strength, as its 6.00 goals-allowed-average is tops in the nation. Duke gives up 10.15.

As such, Duke’s point total of 384 is ninth in the nation (fifth of any team who made the tournament), while Penn’s isn’t in the top 30. In scoring defense Penn is first, and Duke is 29th. But in the end Penn has more of a scoring advantage, as its scoring margin of 4.59 goals per game ranks ninth, while Duke’s 3.40 ranks 15th.

That’s it for now. But I’m going to have game updates later tonight.

I’m writing from Drexel’s Vidas Field to cover the Women’s Lacrosse NCAA Quarterfinal between No. 2 Penn and No. 7 Boston University. Unfortunately the internet is basically non-existent here, so you’ll probably be reading these updates after the game is over and I’ve found a wireless hotspot.

Regardless, this game should be a good one. Both teams are on long winning streaks, although they’ve achieved success differently. Penn has had one of the strongest defenses in the nation, as starting goalkeeper Sarah Waxman’s 6.04 goals-against-average leads the nation. The Terriers meanwhile have the nation’s third highest scoring offense.

With a berth to the NCAA Final Four against either Duke or No. 3 Maryland, it’ll be interesting to which side’s kind of game this becomes. If it turns into an offensive shootout Penn might some have problems as its offense only averages 10.75 goals a game. But if it’s a defensive standstill, the Quakers could get the ‘W’ since they are undefeated when their opponents score under 10 goals.

Early Save by Waxman

BU 1 Penn 0 24:24
BU scores first. This happened last year as well. In fact I think Lauren Morton got both of them. Well she at least scored this year’s opening goal.

BU 1 Penn 1 24:10
Off a fast break senior Chelsea Kocis whips a great cross field pass to senior Rachel Manson, who just rockets it to the lower left of the goal for Penn’s first score.

Nice save off free position 22:43 by BU goalkeeper Rachel Klein.

BU 2 Penn 1 21:12
Sam Wetzel gets BU’s second of the game.

BU 2 Penn 2 20:11
Freshman Giulia Giordano scores off a low shot that bounces off the ground, then the post.

15:45 A goal off of a sweet DeLuca pass to Manson.was called off.

Penn 3 BU 2 13:57
Senior Melissa Lehman gets one off a fellow co-captain Allison Ambrozy pass.

Penn 4 BU 29:14
Kaitlyn Lombardo runs around the crease then fires a low shot for Penn’s fourth goal.

3:38 nice save on a low shot by Waxman.

HALFTIME: Penn 4 BU 2

26:32 Penn shot by Manson goes off the crossbar.

Penn 4 BU 3 25:43
Morton gets her second of the game.

Penn 5 BU 3 23:52
Sophomore Emma Spiro gets her first goal, pushing the Penn lead back to two.

Penn 6 BU 3 16:02
Spiro gets her second of the game of a free position unassisted

Penn 7 BU 3 14:00
Off of a Ambrozy pass Manson gets her second.

Penn 8 BU 3 11:53
Ali DeLuca gets her first goal of the game.

Penn 8 BU 4 11:30
BU’s Sarah Dalton, who came into the game leading the Terriers with 82 points, gets her first goal of the game.

Penn 8 BU 5 5:00
Dalton gets her second. Penn coach Karin Brower calls a timeout.

Penn 8 BU 5 FINAL
BU gets a few shots off, but Quakers goalkeeper Sarah Waxman stops any and all attempts to make the game closer. In the end the Quakers hold onto the ball and get out with the 8-5 vicotry. They’ll face Duke in the NCAA Final Four this Friday at Towson University’s Johnny Unitas Field.

Just a few notes before tomorrow’s NCAA Tournament quarterfinal between No. 2 Penn and Boston University.

*Read my preview here and a feature on the senior class here.

*Tomorrow’s 1 p.m. game will be played at Drexel’s Vidas Field due to graduation setup at Franklin Field. However, Vidas does not have any internet connections, so I won’t be able to do my live blog updates (I’m sure the NCAA won’t mind, though). So what I’ll do is type up game notes offline, and then as soon as I get a chance, I’ll post them. So while you won’t get live updates, you will get a rough goal-by-goal account later Saturday.

Then sometime Sunday, maybe Monday, I’ll post a full recap with quotes.

*With only eight teams left in the tournament, clearly every game is important. But looking at the NCAA bracket, two of the three other games should interest Quaker fans.

The first one of course is the game in Penn’s half of the bracket: Duke at No. 3 Maryland. Duke might be unseeded, but the Blue Devils did give the Terrapins one of their two losses on the season. First draw is at 1pm.

The other is at the top of the bracket. While the winner of game wouldn’t face Penn until the finals, it does pit two of Penn’s most familiar — and disliked — opponents: Northwestern and Princeton. The No. 8 Tigers will travel to the Wildcats, who are the top seed in the tournament. The game is slated to start at 2pm ET.

The third matchup, while not as interesting for Quaker fans as the others, sees No. 5 Syracuse hosting unseeded North Carolina. The Tar Heels upset No. 4 Virginia in the first round. The game also will start at 1pm.

Note: This is my recap from yesterday’s Penn-Colgate game. Sorry for the delay but I was waiting for Inside Lacrosse to edit it and post it to their site, but they never did.

PHILADELPHIA — The last time the University of Pennsylvania Women’s Lacrosse team played an NCAA tournament game in Franklin Field, Northwestern embarrassed the Quakers 12-2 in the Final Four.

But when the No. 2 Quakers took on Colgate Sunday in the first round of the NCAA tournament, it was the Quakers that embarrassed their opponents.

Behind a hat trick apiece from seniors Melissa Lehman and Rachel Manson as well as sophomore Ali DeLuca, the Quakers steamrolled the Raiders 16-7 in front of 513 spectators.

Colgate “looked impressive on tape and I think they have a lot of good athletes,” Penn coach Karin Brower said. “But I think we were just ready to come out right from the first whistle … [We] just did an exceptional job of that.”

The game started off on a blistering pace as Penn scored the first goal just thirty seconds into the game. Even nine and a half minutes later the game was high scoring, as the score stood at 5-3 Penn 10 minutes into the game.

Colgate coach Heather Bliss was not surprised by this early offensive output.

“With women’s lacrosse you either have a very low scoring game or each team rattles off a lot of goals right in a row,” she said. “So I think it was typical to what we’ve seen all season and in other games.”

Brower chalked up the high output to an increased tempo, something which ironically is more a strength of Colgate than Penn.

“They play an up-tempo game and like to push it on the fast break,” Brower said. “We were ready for that … We’ve been working on fast breaks this week, which is usually something we don’t push.

“We got caught up in that tempo. But I think in the second half we did a better job of controlling the tempo.”

“It’s tournament time so you’ve got to bring it,” Manson added. “We were really fired up for this game, as we will be for the rest of our games.”

While the scoreboard showed a 10-4 Penn lead at the break, the Quakers (15-1) slowed down their play in the second half. They held onto to the ball for long stretches, as the two teams combined for only nine goals in the second frame.

In the end, the seven goals for Colgate (11-10) were above Penn’s nation-leading goals-against-average of 6.00. Also, the seven goals were an all-time tournament high for Colgate.

“We played how we normally play,” Colgate attack Molly Carroll said. “We heard their defense was great … But you have to put that aside and play like we normally play against other teams.”

On the flip side, Brower pointed out her team’s defense as the big negative from the game.

“I don’t think it was a strong defensive game for us,” Brower said. “I don’t think we played well as a team defensively. We left a lot of individual defenders in one-on-ones. We weren’t denying cuts very well. And usually that’s a big strength of ours, team defense. We clearly have a lot of work to do this week to get our defense back up to where we want it to be.”

But if the defense played poorly for their standards, the offense exceeded theirs. The 16 goals were the team’s season high, and with her hat trick and two assists Manson continued her climb in the Quakers’ record book. The product out of Alexandria, Va., now has 111 career goals, which ties her with for second all-time with Karen McFadden, and 41 assists which ties her for fourth with Julie Heller. Those 152 points makes her Penn’s third-highest point leader all-time, passing 2007 graduate Chrissy Muller.

“She’s really the quarterback of that attack,” Brower said of Manson. “She calms them down and steps things up and finishes when she needs to finish. She’s been an outstanding player for us for four years. It’s exciting that she’s playing so well in her senior year.”

For the Raiders, although the team had been to the tournament in both 2005 and 2006, this was the first time all but one of the players participated in the NCAAs since the team is youth-laden.

“It was pretty special for the two of us since we’re both from the Philadelphia area,” Raider goalkeeper Sara Drexler said of her and fellow junior Carroll. “I think I had 15 fans here today. It was a tough game; Penn’s a great opponent. But it was a really great first experience.”

Penn meanwhile had the experience of three tournament games last year, including the disaster against Northwestern. And Manson believes that after last year the team is even better equipped to go the distance in 2008.

“I think the team is a little more mentally prepared than last year,” she said. “People talked about last year as a Cinderella story and it happened so fast. But this year we came out with the goal of national champions and we’re not surprised we’re in the quarterfinals right now.”

Next up for the Quakers is No. 7 Boston University who dispatched New Hampshire 16-8 Sunday. But Saturday’s game won’t be played at Franklin Field despite Penn being the higher seeded team. Instead, because Franklin Field will be set up for graduation ceremonies, Penn must claim Drexel’s Vidas Field as its home stadium.

Ironically, the Quakers and Terriers have only met once — last year in the NCAA first round. Penn won 11-5. (Even more ironic, that game also wasn’t played at Franklin Field due to graduation; it was played on Rhodes Field.)

“We played them last year,” Brower said, “but I think they’re an improved team. We’re an improved team as well … We’ve got to keep that final four goal in the back of our minds.”

FINAL PENN 16 COLGATE 7

Even though Colgate scored the last goal, the Quakers are the one advancing. Next Saturday the Quakers will face Boston University although the game will be held at Drexel’s stadium due to graduation festivities at Franklin Field.

A full recap will appear later today on the Buzz.

1:03 Penn 16 Colgate 7

Colgate still isn’t giving up, as they now have a higher total than Penn’s average goals allowed per game (6.00).

1:32 Penn 16 Colgate 6

Seaman gets her second off of classmate Meg Smith’s pass. The goal now makes this game Penn’s highest scoring of the season.

3:04 Penn 15 Colgate 6

With the game well in hand, the Quakers are subbing out most of their starters and giving some valuable tournament experience to the underclassmen. However, this lack of the Quakers’ top tier talent leads to a Colgate goal.

10:50 Penn 15 Colgate 5

Penn reextends its lead to 10, causing the clock to keep running due to the mercy rule, as Spiro gets her second goal of the game.

16:54 Penn 14 Colgate 5
Colgate finally answers back, as Colleen Bubnack gets her second of the game.

18:00 Penn 14 Colgate 4

DeLuca get a crisp pass from junior Hannah Rudloff and the sophomore earns her third goal of the game.
20:18 Penn 13 Colgate 4

Less than a minute later sophomore Barb Seaman off of sophomore Courtney Lube’s pass streaks into the crease and fires a shot past Drexler.

20:51 Penn 12 Colgate 4

Spiro gets fouled and then on the ensuing free position shot nails in a goal. Penn also scored around the 22 minute mark.

HALFTIME

The Quakers were definitely in control in the first half, although when Colgate had the ball they did pretty well. In fact, Waxman only got two saves, whereas Drexler got six. Although of course Waxman has let up four goals vs ten.

And the winner of this game will get Boston University. The Terriers beat New Hampshire 16-8. Looking at the other scores, No. 3 Maryland is leading Temple 8-5 at half. North Carolina is half way to an upset, leading No. 4 Virginia 6-3. And finally No. 8 Princeton is tied at six with Vanderbilt.

The crowd here at Franklin Field isn’t as large as it has been this year, as the Northwestern game clearly had a larger and more vocal crowd. In fact the Penn parents, normally quite vocal aren’t too loud today. Maybe that’s because their vocal and emotional leader, Mrs. Kym the security guard only just appeared.

Despite the slightly smaller numbers, there are a couple of Penn Athletics “bigshots” in attendance, including AD Steve Bilsky and women’s basketball coach Pat Knapp. However they’re not sitting next to each other. Interesting…

0:00 Penn 10 Colgate 4

Colgate got a couple of late chances to cut the lead down, but Penn goalkeeper Sarah Waxman made two key saves.

1:20 Penn 10 Colgate 4

Ambrozy gets her first goal of the game as Manson increases her point total with an assist.

7:09 Penn 9 Colgate 4
Penn’s four-goal run ends with Molly Carroll’s first goal for the Raiders.
8:06 Penn 9 Colgate 3

Lehman gets a nice pass from Giordano and rips off a shot. Colgate goalkeeper Sara Drexler knocks it down, but it still trickles into the goal.

12:04 Penn 8 Colgate 3

The Quakers keep increasing its lead off a free position goal by DeLuca. She had picked off a pass around midfield, sprinted to the Raiders’ goal, yet got fouled before she could shoot.

14:22 Penn 7 Colgate 3

Penn takes a four goal lead after some crisp passing from senior Chelsea Kocis allowed Manson to rip a shot to the upper left corner for a hat trick.

17: 25 Penn 6 Colgate 3

But just as Colgate refuses to go away, Penn refuses to let them come back. Freshman Giordano makes sure of that by getting a feed from sophomore Emma Spiro. It came after a Kaitlyn Lombardo shot ricocheted off the post.

20:10 Penn 5 Colgate 3

Colgate gets another tally, as they refuse to be put away. I should add that there is a sizable Colgate crowd here today, many of whom are more vocal than the Penn supporters.

22:24 Penn 5 Colgate 2

Penn increases its lead back to three off of Manson’s second goal.

24:01 Penn 4 Colgate 2

Another minute goes by and Colgate gets its second of the game. Clearly this is going to be a high scoring affair.

25:02 Penn 4 Colgate 1

Penn rebounds from the Colgate goal with a tally of its own from sophomore Ali DeLuca.

26:13 Penn 3 Colgate 1

But then 18 seconds later Colgate takes the ball off the draw, drives down field and scores its first goal. Clearly when the Raiders have the ball they’re still potent.

26:31 Penn 3 Colgate 0

Then thirty seconds later senior Melissa Lehman gets a feed of off classmate Manson and the Quakers are up by three still earlier.

27:00 Penn 2 Colgate 0

Freshman Guilia Giordano gets a feed off of senior Allison Ambrozy for the Quakers’ second goal

First Half 29:30 left Penn 1 Colgate 0

And just like that Penn is already in the lead. The Quakers took the opening draw, and after almost losing possession senior Rachel Manson got the ball, cut across the crease from the left side and ripped a shot that gave the Quakers quite the early lead.

Welcome to Franklin Field on this gray May day. The Colgate Raiders (11-9) come to town to take on the No. 2 seed Quakers (14-1, 7-0 Ivy League) in the first round of the NCAA tournament. I’ll be providing game updates, although as this is an NCAA championship event I’m limited on how often I can blog. So I’ll post my updates roughly every five minutes (written in bold) even though I’ll give the time designation for all the goals.

The Raiders come into this matchup on a four game winning streak, including wins over American to win the Patriot League championship and over MAAC champion Marist in the NCAA play-in game.

The Quakers meanwhile, are on the nation’s second longest win streak at 12 games, having gone undefeated since a March 9 loss@ Stanford. During the streak the Quakers rose to No. 1 in the nation after beating then-undefeated No. 1 Northwestern.

The winner of this game will get the winner of No. 7 Boston University (who owns the nation’s longest win streak) and New Hampshire.

When Penn women’s lacrosse coach Karin Brower first found out that the No.2-seeded Quakers (14-1, 7-0 Ivy) would be playing Colgate in the first round of the NCAA tournament, she literally had no clue what kind of team Colgate is, saying “we don’t know anything about Colgate.” While she’s certainly scouted the Raiders since then, most readers probably have not. So here it is, a preview on the Colgate women’s lacrosse team:

Despite starting slow at 7-9, the Raiders have whipped off four straight victories to earn their spot in the NCAA tournament. But the run to get here certainly was pressure-filled, as their last three games all were single elimination ones. First they had the Patriot League Tournament semifinal against Lehigh, which they won 22-12. Then came the championship game at regular season champion American who they had previously lost to 13-10. But they exacted revenge winning 13-8. But their spot in the NCAAs wasn’t clinched yet. They still had to win the play-in game against MAAC champion Marist. Yet they won that 19-18 to earn an NCAA bid.

They’ll look to their recent stretch for inspiration.

“We’ve definitely already had that [pressure] experience with the play-in game,” coach Heather Bliss said. “It was able to get some people to really focus for the week at hand. It was good to get some experience under our belt. Obviously we were successful in that game so that should give us a lot of confidence against Penn.”

With the win the they are now in their third NCAA tournament in five years. (Penn meanwhile is only playing in its second since 1984 and fourth all-time.) However, the experience of playing in the tournament will be new to all but one player and one assistant coach.

“We actually have a really young team right now,” Bliss said. “And with that our coaching staff is only in its second year. So for a lot of girls on the team it’s going to be our first time. So as a program Colgate has been there three times in the past five year, but … we only have two seniors on the team and actually one wasn’t here freshmen year because she transferred. So it’ll be a new experience for a lot of the girls. It’s something we’re definitely enjoying; we’re soaking it all up.”

Senior Jessica Van der Meulen and assistant coach Heidi Ross (a Colgate ‘06 alum) are the only two tournament veterans.

Van der Muelen has 14 assists and 32 goals (which would lead the Quakers), putting her third on the team in points. But in addition to the senior captain, the Raiders are led by sophomores Brie Moran and Meghan Lawler who have 53 points apiece.

This balance on offense is one of the teams biggest strengths.

“Some of our biggest strengths are on our attack,” Bliss said. “We have seven girls that can be put the ball in the back of the net. Having that balance is really great for us. When teams mark up on two of us, we still have other girls who can get it done. We have a lot of depth.”

If their offensive balance is their strength, their schedule was one of their weaknesses, according to Bliss.

“One of the weaker points is that we haven’t played as many top teams as Penn has played this season,” Bliss said. “But I don’t think that’s anything that will hurt us going into the game. We’ll still be really excited about it. But they’ve definitely faced some tougher competition than us this season.”

So how do the Raiders matchup with the Quakers?

Looking at Colgate’s past performance, they should watch out.  The Raiders are 4-7 on the road, and they’re 0-5 when they score less than 10 goals.  Considering that the game is at Franklin Field and that Penn not only averages only six goals allowed per game, but its only given up as many as 10 goals once, the Raiders better hope their past performance is just that, in the past.

Knowing this, Bliss wants her team to focus.

“We have to be very patient with the attack,” she said. “They have some very good one-on-one defenders. We’re going to try to get some feeds.  We need to be disciplined and get control of the ball when its on our end.”

The Raiders are aware that Penn has had a great season, and as such they will try to elevate their play to Penn’s level.

“They’ve definitely had a great season,” Bliss said.  “They’re on a great run, and we know they obviously can get it done and be very successful against numerous teams. It’s something that we’re keeping in on the back of our minds, trying to come  in there  and step up our play and hopefully get a win against them.”

In less than 15 hours we’ll know if the Raiders can do just that and score one of the biggest first round upsets in women’s lacrosse history.