Tomorrow's game against Hofstra will give the lacrosse team an important idea of where it is now and what it can accomplish.

"It's going to be a real challenge for us. It's what we've been practicing for all year," Coach Glenn Thiel said. "We know we have to beat these kinds of teams if we want to go to the national tournament."

The Lions have never been to the national tournament and want to change that tradition by starting strong against Eastern powerhouse Hofstra. The schools haven't met in five years. In the series, which began in 1955, Penn State is 4-8.

Hofstra is led by Mike LaCrosse, an All-American who scored 49 goals last season. Goalie Dave Giannone also received All-American mention.

"Defense is Hofstra's forte," Thiel said. "They have several big, powerful athletes, they play rough, and we won't be able to handle that if we don't get our running game going."

"I expect a lot of good sticks, a lot of good athletes," goaltender J.J. Pearl said. "(Thiel) is looking towards that and he's expecting a lot of one-on-one play from them."

Penn State's game depends on the performance of some of the team's top midfielders and attackers, including Jim Laverty, Ted Peddy and Greg Guarton.

While the team doesn't have one superstar scorer, the players spread the goals around and depend on each other to create the plays. So far Peddy and Laverty, the top returning scorers, have been instrumental in creating scoring opportunities.

In the two previous matches against North Carolina and Radford, Peddy led the team with five goals and an assist. Laverty followed with two goals and three assists.

"Offensively we don't have any big star -- against Radford is a good example," Thiel said. "We had 18 goals that 12 different people scored."

The Lions defeated Radford, 18-11.

Hofstra's strong defense will be matched against Penn State's fast-paced style.

"That's our forte, that's our strength," Thiel said. "We're a pitch-and-run team. We want as little settle-down lacrosse as we can have."

While the fast pace favors offensive play, the defense has still performed well. In the Lions' 13-6 loss to No. 3 North Carolina, the defense played as well as it ever has, Thiel said.

Jamie Morse will anchor the defense in goal. Morse and Pearl, both sophomores, have been in close competition during their two years at Penn State. Morse has saved 64 percent of shots and Pearl has stopped 60 percent.

"(Thiel) likes to use Jamie more because he clears the ball better and he's a lot faster afoot than I am," Pearl said.