The fact that Wednesday's men's lacrosse game was snowed out could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Now, Coach Glenn Thiel just hopes that his Lion squad can avoid a letdown at Lafayette tomorrow afternoon.

Penn State (4-0) is currently ranked ninth in the country, its highest rating ever. After three years of barely missing the NCAA Tournament, the Lions appear ready to take the next step.

"The whole thing is news to some of them," Thiel said. "It's nice to be ranked at number nine but we don't put a whole lot of stock in it. We're capable of beating just about anybody on a given day. We have a good schedule to get us into the national tournament. We can't afford a whole lot of losses. We're gonna have to win some games."

Thiel's priorities go beyond tomorrow's matchup to next Saturday's meeting with University of Maryland-Baltimore County, another Top-20 team.

"I don't perceive Saturday as being a problem," he said. "We're a better team than Lafayette. We want to do some things different. Run some different people together. My concern is being ready for UMBC. By the end of next week we want to be in the kind of condition necessary to get through the season."

This year's squad has excelled despite having 13 freshmen. The Lions are led by the foursome of midfielders Kevin McGinley and Pete Makover, attack Chris Lehman and goalie J.J. Pearl. Makover and Lehman lead the team in points (14) while McGinley is the top goal-scorer with 10. Pearl has allowed 26 goals in four games and has a .714 save percentage.

The Lions don't have a prolific goal scorer but the offense has been balanced and productive in the previous four games. Eight players have at least five goals. Penn State is averaging 14.5 goals per contest while giving up only seven a game.

With success comes scrutiny. Usually when high school lacrosse players check out Penn State, it's members of girls' teams shooting for a women's team with two national championships in the last five years.

Thiel hopes to begin laying a similar foundation for his team this season. The key, he says, is making it to NCAAs.

"High school kids are looking at us now because we have a chance to be in the tournament," he said. "The significant thing is once we get in."