When it hasn't been too many turnovers, it's been poor shooting.

When it hasn't been poor shooting, it's been injuries.

And when it hasn't been injuries, it's been superior opponents.

Whatever it's been for the No. 18 Penn State women's lacrosse team, the result is a 1-5 record thus far this season. The Nittany Lions have lost four games in a row, but will look to reverse that trend when they take on Temple at 3 today at Geasey Field.

The Lions suffered a 13-7 loss to No. 1 Princeton on Saturday. At times, the loss looked much worse than the score indicated, but the Lions also had stretches where they looked capable of upsetting the two-time defending national champions.

Penn State was down 6-1 in the first half, but came back to tie the game at seven with 15 minutes left. It was then that the Tigers scored the game's final six goals in a game that was a microcosm of Penn State's season.

"We've proved all season that we can play well in spurts and play hard for portions of the game," Penn State women's lacrosse coach Suzanne Isidor said.

The challenge today for the Lions will be putting together a consistent game. However, the Lions will be without co-captain Jackie Sherman, who will miss her second consecutive game with a back injury. Injuries have plagued the team all season as defenseman Lauren Bryan is out for the year after injuring her knee against William & Mary.

Katie Jeschke, who has already missed four games, is finally getting healthy. She scored a goal in her return to the Penn State lineup on Saturday.

"It was great to have her back on the field," Isidor said. "I thought she looked great, especially considering she hadn't picked up a stick in two weeks."

The Lions will need more of Jeschke's scoring against Temple as the team managed just seven goals, a season low, against Princeton. On Saturday, Isidor said the team had scoring opportunities but just had poor shots. In the previous loss to William & Mary, taking care of the ball on offensive possessions was the team's major problem, but Isidor said that the team minimized its turnovers against Princeton.

All four of Penn State's losses have come to opponents ranked in the top 20, but in Temple, the Lions will face an inexperienced team that is 1-2 on the year. The Owls made the NCAA tournament last year, but lost Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year Deanna Radcliffe to graduation. Temple also lost its all-time saves leader Sheena Oommen.

While the Lions are not exactly where they expected to be at this point in the season, a win against Temple could be big for confidence with a tough schedule still ahead.