When the going gets tough...will the Penn State women's lacrosse team get going?

That's the question the No. 12 Nittany Lions (3-2, 1-1 American Lacrosse Conference) will have to answer with an emphatic yes, if they hope to beat No. 3 Princeton at Bigler Field or Holuba Hall tomorrow at 1 p.m.

While the Lions come into their showdown off a close 13-9 victory against Johns Hopkins, in which they were outscored 7-3 in the second half, the Tigers (4-1) roar into Happy Valley off of a dominating 13-5 victory against No. 1 Duke.

"Princeton's one of the top teams in the country," Lions coach Suzanne Isidor said. "It's always a big game for us."

Penn State will need to have the type of balanced scoring and possession control that they showed in the first half against the Blue Jays, if they want to compete with the Tigers.

"It's going to take everyone getting involved on the attacking end to get our shots," Isidor said. "Ball control is going to be a key."

The Lions received balanced scoring last season when they lost 10-9 at Princeton, as O'Hara's hat trick led a group of five Penn State goal scorers and seven point scorers.

Isidor said the Lions must also gain space on offense with the sharp cuts and hard picks away from the ball that they displayed in the first half, but failed to show in the second period against Johns Hopkins.

"When we're moving off the ball we're at our best," Isidor said. "We definitely need the movement off the ball that we had in the first half (against Johns Hopkins). When we're just standing and watching the ball carrier we get into trouble."

Princeton defender Rachel Becker, a friend and former Marple Newtown high school teammate of Lions midfielder Alison DeCecco, leads a Tigers defense that has limited three of its last four opponents to seven goals or less. Becker is third on the Tigers with 10 ground ball pickups.

"Rachel's definitely a tough defender," Isidor said. "They (Becker and DeCecco) are great players when they play against each other.

Becker, along with Princeton attacker Lauren Simone is one of 12 preseason candidates selected for the Tewaarton Trophy, awarded annually to the top collegiate women's and men's lacrosse players in the nation.

Simone leads the Tigers attack (10 goals, four assists) along with Theresa Sherry (13 goals, 4 assists) and a white hot Kim Smith, who had five goals against Duke.

Since Princeton is so deep on offense, Isidor said the Lions would not focus on one particular player. Rather they will concentrate on playing strong all-around defense.