March 11, 2008

Box Score

BERKELEY - California played a strong first-half to stay close to No. 6/8 Penn at halftime on Tuesday at Memorial Stadium, but, despite a career-high 14 saves from junior goalkeeper Morgan Dyson, the Golden Bears fell, 12-7, to the Quakers. Cal's record fell to 2-4 after the non-conference match. Penn, a 2007 NCAA semifinalist, improved to 3-1.

"Morgan came up really big for us," Cal head coach Theresa Sherry said. "Our defense didn't have a great rhythm today, so she came up big for us in the first half. Those lapses got the best of us in the second half and we dug ourselves another hole, but she did have a great game."

Senior attacker Danni Zuralow led Cal with four points (2 goals, 2 assists), while Penn senior attacker Rachel Manson led all scorers with five points (5 goals). Senior Sarah Waxman, named last year's national goalie of the year by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA), made three saves.

Penn had the edge in draw controls, 12-9.

Cal scored first when senior attacker Brittany Aungier collected her fourth goal of the season, off a Zuralow assist, at the 3:51 mark. After Emma Spiro scored on an eight-meter attempt to tie the match at 5:18, junior defender Sam Price scored her fourth goal of the year, set up by another Zuralow assist, to give Cal a 2-1 lead at 12:22.

Courtney Lubbe and Barb Seaman tallied goals at 12:48 and 13:36, respectively, to give the Quakers a 3-2 lead. Zuralow knotted the game at 3-3 with an unassisted strike at 20:09.

At 27:39, sophomore midfielder Alex Tickner barely snuck a shot by Waxman to give the Bears its last lead of the game at 4-3.

Manson then stuck quickly in the final minute of the first half, first at 29:01 and then at 29:13, to send the Quakers into halftime with a 5-4 lead.

Dyson had a strong first half, making nine saves on the Quakers' 17 shots. She saved four of Penn's five eight-meter shots.

Penn's defensive intensity increased in the second half, and the Bears had trouble holding onto the ball. Cal produced 12 turnovers in the second half and 23 overall, while Penn had just 12 turnovers total.

Giulia Giordano converted an eight-meter attempt to give Penn a 6-4 lead at 38:38. At 41:53, Cal freshman Nellie Hayes set up Price's second goal and the Bears crept back within one at 6-5. The assist marked Hayes' first as a Bear.

But Manson scored three of Penn's next four goals, ending with her final goal of the game at 48:09, to give the Quakers a 10-6 lead Cal could not surmount. During that span, Zuralow converted an eight-meter shot for her team-leading 17th goal of the season.

Spiro and Giordano scored two of the game's final three goals, sandwiched around DennaFaye Herald's goal at 59:27, to make the final score 12-7.

Cal continues its current three-game homestand with a game against the Quinnipiac Bobcats Sat noon on Friday at Memorial Stadium.

GAME SUMMARY

	         1	2	F
Penn	         5	7	12
California	4	3	7

Penn Scoring
Goals: Manson, Rachel 5; Spiro, Emma 2; Giordano, Giulia 2; Seaman, Barb 1; Kocis, Chelsea 1; Lubbe, Courtney 1. Assists: Deluca, Ali 2; Lehman, Melissa 2; Ambrozy, Allison 1; Kocis, Chelsea 1; Seaman, Barb 1.

California Scoring
Goals: Danni Zuralow 2; Sam Price 2; Alex Tickner 1; DennaFaye Herald 1; Brittany Aungier 1. Assists: Danni Zuralow 2; Nellie Hayes 1; Sam Price 1.

Goalkeeping
Penn: Sarah Waxman, 3 saves, 7 GA, 60:00. California: Morgan Dyson, 14 saves, 12 GA, 60:00.

Records: Penn 3-1. California 2-4.