Lady laxers facing off against upstart Colgate

Bigler Athletic Complex will become an ironing board tomorrow when two women's lacrosse teams meet, hoping to take care of a few early season wrinkles.

Colgate will bring a young squad to State College to open up its season at 1 p.m. tomorrow against the No. 6 Lady Lions. With the season just getting underway, both coaches said they are looking to the game as a chance to gain experience as a team.

"We're trying to see where our teams are and that's a pretty good place to be," Penn State coach Julie Williams said.

Williams said the Lions (1-0) learned a lot during their preseason. However, she said she is still waiting for the group to get used to working with each other so it can come together as a team.

One of the rough edges Penn State will be looking to smooth involves its transition game. Williams said the team has stressed transition in practice lately, but its work didn't show against Richmond Wednesday.

"We've really been working on it in practice," sophomore attack Christine Kenney said. "(Williams) wants us to make short passes because when we make long ones we're not connecting."

Williams said part of the reason for her team's sloppy transition game Wednesday was a result of the absence of team captain Emily Mechem, who is out until next week with a fractured occipital bone.

"Emily's a key kid in that transition game so I think that had a lot to do with why we were a little discombobulated," Williams said.

Colgate coach Cathy Foto also said tomorrow's game will be an opportunity for her team to jell. With only 16 players on its roster and just five upperclassmen, Foto said her team needs to mature quickly.

However, Foto said her team is still striving to shake up the lacrosse world by leaving State College with its record unblemished.

"We're looking for the upset," Foto said. "That's our total motivation -- upset, upset, upset."

In order to be successful, the Red Raiders will look to senior attack Angela Chongris, a third-team All-American last season after scoring 51 goals.

Defensively, Colgate is led by junior goalkeeper Hilary Meyer. Last season, Meyer was a regional All-American as she and Chongris helped the Red Raiders to an 11-2 record.

"Certainly we want to be able to challenge them," Foto said. "We want to be poised and look aggressive."

If history is any indication, they'll have to be. Colgate is 0-4 against Penn State lifetime, losing 14-3 when the two teams last met in 1992.