At the beginning of the season it was a young team with high hopes. However, those hopes never fully developed into production on the field.

The Penn State women's lacrosse team has been ranked in the top 15 all season, but it became evident last Sunday that its season would most likely come to an end this Saturday.

The team came into this year looking to improve on last season's 8-9 campaign, and the upside was bright. However, what shows on paper doesn't always translate to the playing field.

"We wanted to come out and we wanted to win," tri-captain Lee Tortorelli said about her team's perspective coming into the season. "We've been back and forth and we just need to go to the NCAA's right now."

After failing to win their conference championship on Sunday, the Nittany Lions know that their hopes of obtaining an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament are slim.

With 16 underclassmen, putting everything together for a 17-game season would seem to be a daunting task, but one the Lions felt they could overcome.

"I knew we were going to take our hits," Penn State women's lacrosse coach Suzanne Isidor said. "I think we showed a lot of potential and we showed it at times. The only disappointing thing was that we didn't show it a little more."

What made this season fall short of expectation was the fact the Lions were in most of their eight losses, but fell short. In four of those games, including Sunday's, the Lions fell by just one goal.

One of the tougher schedules in the country kept the Lions near the top of the rankings all season, but never being able to put together back-to-back wins may have been the nail in their coffin.

When asked if her team should receive an at-large bid to the tournament, Isidor paused and said, "Yes, I feel like playing-wise we do, but record-wise we haven't gotten it done. Yes and no I guess."

Some players are maintaining a positive attitude, although a second-place finish in conference means two at-large bids would have to be given to the American Lacrosse Conference, since there is no automatic berth. It appears as though only one team, if any, will receive that invitation, and that appears to be Ohio State after Sunday's one-goal victory over Penn State.

"This team plays hard, so I hope we get it," Tortorelli said. "It's just a matter of beating Delaware."

Whether they are playing to impress the selection committee, or just playing for personal pride, Saturday's game will be a special one for the three seniors. Colleen O'Hara, Katie Pace and Kristin Wood, who have gone 32-36 in their four-year careers in Happy Valley, will be looking to go out as winners, even if it is not in the NCAA tournament.