The word exhibition may be written next to tomorrow's match against No. 1 John Hopkins, but for the No. 17 Penn State men's lacrosse team, it is much more than that. Instead, it's more like a challenge or a measuring stick, one much longer than the one's being used tomorrow.
Coming off the team's first ever NCAA tournament berth, the Nittany Lions are primed to go farther than last year's first-round exit, when the Lions lost to Towson 11-6. However, while a first round appearance is nice, it is taking that next step which will be the hard part.
The baby steps to bigger and better things begin tomorrow.
"In the past [the preseason schedule] has not included a team as good as John Hopkins," Penn State men's lacrosse assistant coach Lars Tiffany said. "I've been telling the guys that John Hopkins is as good a program as there is in college lacrosse."
While it is the first challenge on this year's schedule, it will not be the only one, as the Lions face five top-20 teams this season, with three of those games at home. They will need all the help they can get now that the automatic bid given to the East Coast Athletic Conference is gone.
Before the start of the regular season, the Lions will need to shore up their defense that was decimated by graduation, a defense that lost every starter but one, senior captain Matt O'Malley. It may also take time to get used to the loss of honorable-mention All-American goalie Chris Garrity in net.
On offense, the Lions must also deal with the loss of attacker Luke Ogelsby, who controlled the attack and freed up Nate Whitaker, who returns after leading the Lions in scoring last season. He, as well as the rest of the team, will have to adjust their offense through the midfield, the strength of the Lions this season.
They may learn all these things the hard way against the preseason's top-ranked team.
"They will expose you where you are weak," Tiffany said. "I'm excited about the challenge because...if they do expose some things and they do score more goals or they do shut us down, then we know we have to work on those things. You find out right away [how good you are]."
-- By Joel Rineer
