Penn women stumble in OT in lacrosse

BALTIMORE - Penn's defense slowed Loyola University Maryland for much of Sunday's first-round NCAA women's lacrosse tournament game.

The Greyhounds like a fast-paced style, and the Quakers kept things slower.

But Penn couldn't hold on all the way. Sixth-seeded Loyola scored two overtime goals, the last coming from Hannah Schmitt with 3.8 seconds left to give the Greyhounds a 10-9 victory over the Quakers at the Ridley Athletic Complex.

Penn coach Karin Brower Corbett said her team wanted to control the Loyola fastbreak and limit those scoring chances. The Quakers, who finished the season 9-8, did that throughout the game that featured nine ties. But Loyola (14-5) came through late.

"I think we frustrated them on attack," Corbett said. "They only scored [10] goals, and they're a pretty high-scoring team. I do think we limited their chances."

Caroline Bunting led Penn with three goals while Meredith Cain and Erin Brennan both had two goals and one assist. The Quakers were able to lead or stay tied most of the game.

Penn took a 9-8 lead in overtime - which was a pair of three-minute nonsudden-death periods - when Cain scored with 21.6 seconds left in the first extra period. But Loyola tied it on a Kara Burke free-position shot with three-tenths of a second left in that period.

The Quakers held possession for most of that first overtime frame and did the same thing in the second. But Loyola goalie Kerry Stoothoff stopped a Cain shot with about 20 seconds left. There was a foul right after that, and the Greyhounds quickly started a fastbreak.

Sydney Thomas made a long run into the Penn end and found Schmitt wide open on the right side. Thomas' pass set up Schmitt, who beat goalie Emily Leitner with a high shot to win the game.

"I think our defense played really well," Leitner said. "We were there to help. I think overall, they played a really solid game."

Penn outshot Loyola, 24-23, and couldn't finish a number of good scoring chances. The Quakers forced 15 turnovers with their tough defense, something that Loyola coach Jen Adams said bothered her team.

"They threw a lot of different stuff at us and played a really tough style of lacrosse today that obviously we had a lot of difficulty with," Adams said.