The women's lacrosse team stood in front of the White Building yesterday, chanting like warriors on their way to a fight. The young women, armed only with wooden sticks, were about to face a battle-scarred, veteran-ridden team from Loyola.

"They have a heck of a lot more experience than we do," Coach Julie Williams said about Loyola. "It takes a while before you come together and jell."

The Lady Lions began the contest at high noon in Holuba Hall and ended with a 11-10 loss in overtime.

"We played great," freshman Michelle Dejuliis said. "We couldn't ask for anything more. They came up with just one more goal."

Although the result was close, each team's style was different. The Greyhounds (2-0) jumped out in the lead with two goals in the first six minutes, led an aggressive attack and played strong one-to-one defense.

The Lady Lions were down, but not out. The team maintained its composure and scored a goal to get back into the game. Although Loyola scored another two points, Penn State scored two more goals in the last 10 minutes and ended the period trailing, 4-3.

"It's tough for a young team to come back like that," Williams said.

The beginning of the second half was like dja vu. The Greyhounds came out and got a quick goal, but the Lady Lions retaliated soon after.

As Penn State was celebrating its score, netminder Patty Kloidt watched two more balls pass by her. The veterans were showing their prowess, but the young Lady Lions were not to be denied. The sweet taste of victory was still fresh in their mouths from their win over Richmond last Wednesday.

With each score, the players seemed to get stronger and more confident. The Lady Lions' tentative nature from the first half had seemed to disappear and they managed to tie the score at 10-10 by the end regulation play.

"Every time we score, it boosts us up and we get pysched," Dejuliis said.

However, most of the talking in Holuba came from the sidelines when the first overtime period started. The jitters had seemed to have returned to the Penn State team as the Greyhounds scored the game-winning goal.

The Lady Lions, whose record now stands at 1-1, need to work on "their poise and patience under pressure," Williams said. "They made a couple of bad choices that led to turnovers."

The Lady Lions may have lost, but they were not defeated. There was a lesson learned in this battle.

"If we talk to each other, there is no stopping us," Dejuliis said.