Lions gear up for unbeaten UMass

"This is definitely one of the biggest games of the season for us," senior attacker Eric Wood said. "This is really a pivotal game because UMass is undefeated and is on top of our conference."

Actually, the Minutemen (6-0, 2-0 ECAC) are more than just on top of the conference. Coach Greg Cannella's squad is leading the nation in scoring by netting over 17 goals per contest. UMass also has the country's seventh stingiest defense, which allows only seven goals a game.

The Minutemen are also in the top three nationally in face-off winning percentage, man-up offense and man-down defense.

While Cannella's crew has outscored their first six opponents by a combined score of 105-43, the Minutemen are expecting nothing less than a war from Penn State (3-3, 0-2 ECAC).

"I think they have an outstanding team," Cannella said. "They're very experienced and they have good size and speed which are two things that go a long way in the game of lacrosse."

Penn State head coach Glenn Thiel had equal praise for the Minutemen.

"They look very quick," Thiel said. "They fly to the goal and put a lot of pressure on the defense. They have a lot of former attackers at midfield.

Penn State assistant coach Lars Tiffany says UMass's depth is the biggest concern for the Nittany Lions.

"They play a lot of people and a lot of them are seniors with a good amount of experience," Tiffany said. "They constantly want to go, go, go. They want to push the ball in transition and take advantage of a lot of fastbreaks. UMBC was a team that liked to slow it down, but UMass plays as if the first one to 50 wins.

"This will be a great challenge for our defense. This is a very talented and balance unit, every one of them has the ability to score goals."

If the Minutemen have a weakness, it may be an overaggressive defense.

"Their defense seems to be more man oriented than team oriented," Tiffany said. "They have a tendency to stay with their man instead of helping each other out. We have a feeling that if we can get some good action setting picks on the ball and dodge hard and run by our man, we'll get some good shots."

Although the Minutemen are off to an undefeated start this season — while the Nittany Lions have rollercoastered to a 3-3 record — Thiel's club downed Cannella's 11-8 in Happy Valley last season with basically the same rosters.

"We beat this team last year with essentially the same team we have this year," Thiel said. "And we're basically seeing their same team. The only difference in this contest is that we're traveling this time."

That's one aspect of this matchup that could have a huge impact on the final score.

"Traditionally (Garber Field) has been one of the toughest places to play at in the country," Thiel said. "In the past they've had an unbelievable atmosphere. New England refereeing is tough up there also. It almost seems like they're trying to protect their own."

While Penn State has stumbled out of the gates in conference play, the Nittany Lions aren't viewing this game as a season saver.

"As a team, we haven't stressed this as a must win," Wood said. "But we as players see it as a pivotal game because it can override earlier losses like the one to Georgetown."