Archive for May 12, 2012
May 12, 2012 — Penn State 15, Towson 8
Today’s Game of the Day;
South Burlington (Vt.) at Middlebury (Vt.) Union
This showdown of once-beaten teams could make a difference when it comes to next month’s state tournament.
FULL TIME Thanks for joining us this afternoon
FULL TIME Penn State next faces ALC rival Florida in the quarterfinal round
FULL TIME Full marks to the Penn State attack, especially Molly Fernandez and Haley Ford, who took their chances and made them count
FULL TIME To be sure, Towson had several gilt-edged scoring chances. But Cahill or her goalpost or close defenders got in the way
FULL TIME The horn goes; Penn State not only beats Towson 15-8, but sends a message with the largest margin of victory (tied with UNC) this far in the octofinal round
58:26 TOW FP and GOAL Custer from the right-center hash and the deficit is seven goals
57:48 PSU GOAL Elaine Welsh scores and Penn State leads 15-7
56:58 PSU GOAL Fernandez streaks down the heart of the fan and scores; the seven-goal margin ties for the largest margin of victory today (UNC 14:7 Navy)
55:44 PSU FP and GOAL Coffey from the center hash and Penn State leads 13-7
54:30 Towson gets an open shot from its “bear” formation — ball at x, one up top, one on the left elbow, and everyone else at the right elbow. Raymond’s open shot is gobbled up by Cahill
52:53 Injury timeout as a Lion is bleeding and is going to be patched up; as good as a TV timeout here
50:00 With a five-goal lead and the ball, you can’t blame Penn State for taking the air out of the ball, making Towson chase
48:52 Teeters back in the net for Towson
48:52 PSU GOAL McCormick works a hi-lo with Tatum Coffey and the Penn State lead is 12-7
46:40 TOW FP Waldron hits the goalie from the right-center hash; that’s three golden Towson opportunities gone awry
44:30 Towson works the ball to Paige Duncan at the crease, but she can’t put it over Cahill! Remember that play because the deficit could have been three
43:30 TOW FP Murkey hits Cahill’s leg or the post from the right-center hashmark
42:35 TOW GOAL Rohrback from behind the cage and the deficit is four; if there is any time for a late run, it’s right now
41:34 TOW GOAL Waldron gives the Tigers a bit of hope, but the hosts are still five goals down
40:00 Penn State is on a clear and almost put the ball in their own net on an overthrow; there might have been a call to Chip Rogers to find out how to score that play!
38:51 PSU GOAL Ford with a high-riser from the center of the arc and the Lions are up 11-5
37:24 Kelsea Donnelly now replaces Teeters in the goal cage; is this the spark the Tigers needed?
37:24 PSU FP and GOAL Zichelli from the center hash after Towson is called for a 3-second violation; the Nittany Lions are up 11-5
34:54 PSU GOAL Ford scores again; that’s three goals in 2:53 to open a 9-5 lead
34:23 PSU GOAL Lizzy Carney runs in a good 70 yards and finds twine; it’s 8-5 Penn State
32:01 PSU GOAL Haley Ford takes a Maggie McCormick pass and forces it in from an acute angle on the right wing
30:00 The second half is under way
HALFTIME The third talking point: the dreadful call on the phantom charge in the 23rd minute. If that tied the game, it might be a different mood in the Towson locker room right now
HALFTIME The second talking point surrounds the two senior goalies. Cahill played inspired lacrosse the first 10 minutes, but it was saves by Tigers goalie Mary Teeters that have kept her side in it thus far
HALFTIME Three talking points from this first term: first, the draws. When PSU was making its early run, the Lions were winning the draws and have kept on winning them; it is noticeable that Towson made its run late through turnovers
HALFTIME At the horn, Penn State leads Towson 6-5
29:50 TOW GOAL Raymond is the beneficiary of a neat pass play and she scores from a hip-high shot
27:59 Towson springs Raymond on a goalie clear that looks straight out of the Oakland Raiders playbook, but Cahill makes the save!
26:34 PSU GOAL Cyr scores from a tight angle and the Nits lead 6-4
24:00 Custer puts the ball in, but the goal is waved off for a charge; a very questionable call since she got the shot off well before a Penn State defender stepped up
22:25 TOW GOAL Custer snaps a forehand off a Murkey pass and the deficit is down to one
18:22 TOW GOAL Ashley Waldron snaps one in off a crease roll and the deficit is down to two
12:30 TOW GOAL Kelly Murkey burns a forehand into the top corner; the deficit is three
11:42 PSU GOAL Kelly Lechner gets a step on everyone and finds rope; the lead is four
10:53 Note: winner of this game travels to Florida, who beat the University at Albany 6-4
10:53 Timeout, Towson
10:53 PSU FP and GOAL Fernandez picks up a rebound off Zichelli’s attempt from the left hash and it’s
4-1 Penn State
9:29 PSU FP and GOAL Lauren Purvis from the left hash and it’s 3-1 Nittany Lions
8:52 PSU FP and GOAL Molly Fernandez cashes in from the center-left hash
8:00 Towson applies attacking pressure, but Dana Cahill, a native of Towson, makes a pair of strong saves!
5:32 PSU GOAL Theresa Zichelli dumps it over the goalie from in close and we’re tied up
4:30 Penn State’s Mackenzie Cyr tries a goal shot from a near impossible angle
2:26 TOW GOAL Andi Raymond, the other super-soph, delivers the game’s first goal
2:00 Towson attacker Ashleigh Rohrback creatively attempts a backhand from in amongst the trees, but the ball ambles wide
0:00 The game is on
PREGAME Penn State will be in the navy uniforms with white numbers. Towson are in the white tops with black numbers and kilts with gold trim
PREGAME It is a warm afternoon here in Towson with temperatures in the mid-70s with a light breeze
PREGAME As this is the 8-vs-9 game in the bracket, this is ostensibly going to be the closest match of the weekend, according to the NCAA Tournament Committee
PREGAME Penn State’s inclusion into this tournament despite inferior strength of schedule and Ratings Percentage Index has been the talk of the women’s lacrosse community the past seven days, and it will be interesting to see if the Lions are able to justify their seeding
PREGAME This match has a number of delicious storylines, not the least of which are the teams’ relative youth on attack. PSU coach Missy Doherty used to be Towson’s head coach until leaving after the 2010 season, Penn State’s senior goalie, Dana Cahill, is from Towson, Md.
PREGAME The Nittany Lions, making their first NCAA tournament since 2005, are 11-6 on the year. They will be led by sophomore attacker Mackenzie Cyr, who had 33 goals and 22 assists this season while freshman attacker Maggie McCormick recorded 28 goals and 27 assists
PREGAME The Tigers, champions of the Colonial Athletic Association, are the No. 8 seed, and are 16-3 this season, Towson led by sophomore attacker Ashleigh Rohrback (26 goals, 22 assists) and classmate Andi Raymond (33-33)
PREGAME Welcome to Minnegan Field at Unitas Stadium on the campus of Towson University for this NCAA octofinal match between Penn State and Towson
