Penn tops Canisius, advances to 2d round

COLLEGE PARK, MD. - Making its eighth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, the No. 13 Penn women's lacrosse team (14-4) advanced to the second round with a 9-4 victory over Canisius (12-8) here on Friday night.

The matchup pegged Penn's stingy No. 8-ranked defense against Canisius' No. 13-ranked scoring offense. But the Quakers' defense proved to be the stronger force, causing the Golden Griffins to turn the ball over 14 times and limiting one of the school's all-time leading point scorers, Maria Kotas, to just two goals.

Junior defender Taylor Foussadier was in charge of sticking with Kotas throughout the game and did an excellent job following the scouting report, which she actually had part of written in pen on the inside of her arm while she played.

"Our coaches did a really good job of telling me everything she does and her favorite moves, and I really followed that to a T and was able to stop her," Foussadier said.

Despite solid defense and being able to dictate the pace of the game, Penn turned the ball over 12 times, 10 in the second half. Head coach Karin Corbett let her players know after the game how unsatisfied she was.

"We just didn't play smart. I feel like we just threw the ball away, didn't make easy catches, just were very undisciplined all over the field for really three-quarters of the game," Corbett said.

Penn came out of the gates firing, with 15 shots in the first half, and led, 7-2, at the intermission.

Penn faded a bit in the second half before senior midfielder Tory Bensen scored four times and added one assist.

The win sets up Penn for a rematch with No. 1 Maryland on Sunday at noon. The teams met at Franklin Field in mid-March, with the Terrapins winning, 15-5.