As with almost every sport, women's lacrosse is not exempt from the rivalry that exists between Penn State and Temple.

Penn State (3-0) owns a 13-6 career record against the Lady Owls, including last year's 9-5 triumph. The 1992 chapter to the Penn State-Temple book will be added at 3 this afternoon in Philadelphia.

It will be Temple's second game of the season. The Lady Owls have a 7-5 victory over Boston College under their belts.

"It's a long-standing rivalry," Temple Coach Tina Sloan Green said. "I've been at Temple 19 years, so they've been a rival for 19 years."

"It probably was a rivalry a couple of years ago," junior defender Sue Nutter said. "Personally, I look to Virginia as a rival. But you've got to take one game at a time."

Penn State will host preseason No. 1 Virginia this Sunday. Virginia already has one loss on the season; a 5-2 road loss to Princeton.

But the Virginia game is still six days away. Right now the focus is on Temple.

While the locale is not entirely familiar, the playing surface is. Penn State will play on turf, giving the Lady Lions a perceived speed advantage. Turf has been the team's practice field by choice and necessity due to the uncooperative weather. Playing two of their first three games on grass has been a change for the team.

"(Grass) is a lot different than what we've been used to," midfielder Chris McGinley said.

If turf is an advantage for the Lady Lions, so is the team's cohesion. Individually, the team is led by Deanna Blood's 11 points (six goals, five assists), but Penn State is far from a one-dimensional team. Temple's Sloan Green also claims her team's play is solid and comparable to Penn State's.

"Our strength lies in our teamwork," Sloan Green said. "We don't have a lot of superstars. It is a pretty solid matchup."