Lady laxers travel south this weekend

By CRAIG KACKENMEISTER
Collegian Staff Writer

Everything seems to be heading in the right direction for the Penn State women's lacrosse team after it recently jumped seven spots in the rankings to No. 2 in the nation on the heels of a three-game winning streak.

"They are psyched," Lady Lions coach Julie Williams said about the No. 2 ranking. "They felt great and it's a good confidence booster, but we got to keep performing."

The Lions (3-1) will take their new ranking on the road today when they face No. 13 William & Mary (1-0) and No. 3 Virginia at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Lions are coming off a strong 17-12 victory over then-No. 2 James Madison last weekend, but Williams says that there is still room for improvement.

Penn State had a controlling 14-5 lead in that game, but the Dukes went on a five-goal scoring barrage that made it 14-10.

"We're slowly getting there," Williams said. "We were still a little shaky in Nashville and came out with fire against James Madison and lost some momentum. We can't give up another run."

William & Mary is coming off its first game of the season when it battled back from an early 4-1 deficit against Colgate to pull off a 12-8 victory.

The victory was also the first for first-year coach Kim Lannon, who replaced Feffie Barnhill.

Lannon left her assistant coaching job at Brown to take the job at her alma mater.

"I have been very busy," Lannon said. "I think I had good experience at Brown. And being an alum helped me adjust, and I know the type of athletes. It's been smooth so far."

The Tribe lost seven players to graduation last year including CAA Player of the Year, Lindsay Rademaker. But Lannon has tri-captains Mary Beth Noel, Stuart Cawthorn and Dani Vissers.

"One great thing is that the three seniors are on all different sides of the field," Lannon said. "They are definitely the leaders of the team."

Last year the Tribe came to Happy Valley and handed the Lions a tough 8-6 loss, which was the start of a three-game losing streak. One thing Williams said the Lions have to do to avenge that loss is shut down the Tribe's power.

"We need to shut down Vissers," Williams said. "We also have to keep them from their midfield speed. We've been working on our defensive trap."

The Lions do have the upper hand in the experience department with four games under their belt compared to William & Mary's one.

"Penn State has more experience," Lannon said. "They have also been tested and have come up on top. They are our first real challenge, but I think we match up pretty well with each other."

Sunday Penn State will travel to Charlottesville, Va., for a game against Virginia (3-1).

The Cavaliers dropped their first game of the season Tuesday at home, 13-3 to No. 1 Maryland. They face Princeton today, which Williams hopes will be an advantage for the Lions.

"(Virginia) is a good rival," Williams said. "They're coming off a loss and hopefully they will take their frustration out on Princeton."