Coming off a 15-9 loss to Towson State, the men's lacrosse team has hopes of raising its record when it hosts Drexel University at 2 p.m. tomorrow on the outdoor Astro Turf next to Holuba Hall.

Although the Dragons (1-2) have beaten only Western Maryland, Penn State Coach Glenn Thiel said they are capable of beating his team. The Dragons have only beaten Penn State on two occasions -- four years ago, 14-13, and 9-7 in 1978.

"Drexel is a very young and scrappy team," he said. "The games are always emotional and tense." Paul Gilhool, sophomore defenseman, said Penn State needs to concentrate on fastbreaks and clearing the ball.

"We can count on it to be a tough matchup," sophomore defenseman Paid McKelvey said. "They have the potential to beat us so we have to play a good game to win."

McKelvey also said the loss to Towson should not be a factor in the Drexel contest.

"That game showed that we need more improvement," he said. "It's a credit to us that we played progressively better against such a high ranked team. We came out late in the game and made a pretty good showing. We're starting to play well together as a team."

Thiel said Penn State-Drexel games are usually exciting to watch because both teams are comprised of athletes from Pennsylvania, which creates a high intensity level.

"They have a good amount of talent," McKelvey said. "They are mostly Pennsylvania kids so that makes it pretty much of a rivalry. There is always a rivalry when local guys play against each other."

"Our idea for motivation is to make sure we are eady and also to remember that this team has beaten us before and is capable of doing it again," Thiel explained. "This won't be like the game against Lafayette, who has never beaten us and has never really come close. The kids know that and have to keep it in mind."

Thiel said he has not decided if either freshmen Jamie Morse or J.J. Pearl will start in the goalie position.

"Both are good and they are going to get better," he said. "They are capable of being hot one minute but lose concentration the next. We are going to keep playing both of them and decide who matures faster later on in the season."

"College lacrosse is a lot different than high school," said Morse, a freshman from Middlebury, Vt. "The shots are much harder and the game is much quicker""

"J.J. and I both have our good days and our ups and downs," he explained. "We're both different kind of players. I think its good to see who can do better in different situations."