March 18, 2012
Box Score | Joe Howell’s Photos 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The 8th ranked Vanderbilt lacrosse team (7-2) fell in overtime to No. 11 Penn State (5-2) on Sunday at the VU Lacrosse Complex, 12-11.
Senior Ally Carey’s goal in the first minute of action set the tone for the first half as the Commodores marched out to a 5-1 lead before heading into halftime up 7-4. Carey and sophomore Abby Wheeler led Vanderbilt in the first half with two goals apiece.
The second half, however, saw the Nittany Lions score five straight unanswered goals to tie the game at 10 with 14:56 remaining. After freshman Meggie Ramzy gave the `Dores an 11-10 lead, junior Molly Fernandez responded for Penn State with a goal to tie the game at the end of regulation.
The Nittany Lions were victorious in overtime as freshman Tatum Coffey’s goal proved to be the difference.
Despite the loss, Vanderbilt held a 17-10 advantage in draw controls over Penn State. “It’s relatively ironic that we actually won draw controls today and lost the game, because that has been a sticking point for us this year,” said Commodore Head Coach Cathy Swezey. “In the end, we have to learn to play a 60-minute game. This has consistently been the issue game after game, but we’ve been finding ways to win. Today it finally caught up with us because we did not play 60 minutes.”
Offensively, the Commodores were led by Carey, Wheeler, Ramzy, Casey Bakker, and Hannah Clark as each scored two goals in the contest.
Goalkeeper Chelsea Pasfield came off the bench in the second half to record five saves. “We felt that Chelsea Pasfield really came in and gave our defense a lift,” added Swezey. “We’re really proud of the performance she gave us off the bench.”
The Commodores will travel to Evanston, Illinois, to face Northwestern on Friday, March 23 at 3:00 p.m. CT. The next home game at Vanderbilt will be on Sunday, April 1 against Johns Hopkins at noon CT.
