For 30 minutes of Tuesday's 10-8 loss at Temple, the women's lacrosse team played as well as it had all year. Against the Lady Owls, ranked No. 1 in preseason, Penn State actually held a lead of 8-5 five minutes into the second half.

Then Temple began to use its speed and offensive weapons to wrestle the victory away from the No. 4 Lady Lions. Still, the team believes the loss will be a benefit in the long run.

The Lady Lions get their first chance to check that out tomorrow when No. 2 Virginia comes to University Park for a 1 p.m. tussle at Lady Lion Field. Penn State will then face No. 6 William & Mary at the same time Sunday.

"We should have beaten Temple," attack wing Faith Sweeney said. "(But now) we know we have it in us to play as a playoff team. I don't feel there's a team that (can get) in our way if we pull together and I think there's a good chance for that this weekend.

"If we could pull off a big win, it'll add a lot of confidence to our team. It would be a big thing for us mentally to beat these teams."

Sweeney also said she believed the team had been struggling to gain confidence during its 4-2 start to the season. Yet after playing its rival, Temple, so close, she thinks the team's true potential will start to emerge.

The only thing stopping the team will be the top quality of competition this weekend. Virginia is currently 5-1 but is coming off a 6-5 triple overtime loss to Maryland, also on Tuesday.

Virginia coach Jane Miller said both her team and Penn State have similar styles of play. And the comparisons go farther than their high-scoring type of play. Both teams have lost in three overtimes (Penn State fell 6-5 to Loyola of Maryland on March 20) and the two squads will rely on five-to-six first-year varsity players. Also both have played matches where they've won handily (Virginia 14-5 over Lehigh and Penn State 31-4 against Shippensburg).

Last season Penn State sneaked a 12-8 victory out of Charlottesville en route to the national title. While this team has different players, Miller still looks at the traditional success of Penn State.

"I never believe Penn State has a down year," she said. "They'll always put a (good) team out on the field."

Cynthia Mathes, a 1989 Regional All-American, has 15 goals so far this season and Amy Breen has scored nine. Erin Stewart has contributed four assists.

"I expect an intense game," third home Deanna Blood said. "UVa should give us a really hard time."

LADY LAX FAX: Penn State is 0-2 on artificial turf this season. Tomorrow's game is scheduled on grass . . . Penn State coach Julie Williams graduated from Virginia in 1987.