The Penn State club lacrosse team traveled to the University of Maryland for a tournament held April 2-3, only to have Navy sink the team's hopes. Going 0-5 on the weekend has forced Penn State to assess where it is before the national tournament begins later this month.

Penn State came into the weekend with a 4-0 record this season and was looking to establish a tone, but failed to do so.

At the close of regulation, Navy broke open the game, which was deadlocked at 7, by scoring a go-ahead goal. Penn State could not tie the game before clock wound down and lost 8-7.

The emotional drain from such a close defeat lingered for the next two days and the previously undefeated Penn State squad dropped its remaining tournament games to Salisbury State, Syracuse, Delaware and Maryland.

Undefeated entering the weekend, Penn State was sitting atop its conference and ranked third in the National College Lacrosse League (NCLL) standings. The Navy game took its toll on the team.

"We beat ourselves," captain Brian Vernau said. "The defense slacked off. We really didn't play to our potential. Those were teams we should've beaten."

"The Maryland tournament was a major disappointment," Vernau said. "We were looking forward to winning it."

Although the 4-5 record hurts the team's ranking nationally, it has little bearing on the division rankings. Vernau said the computer-based rankings are not taken that seriously, and that it's the conference record that matters most. The five losses last weekend were to non-conference opponents, so Penn State is still atop its division.

Penn State is trying to set up a tournament this weekend at Millersville, with an invitation going to West Virginia. Next week's game against Bucknell, which should be held either Monday or Wednesday, will be the most pivotal.

"Bucknell is a must a win game," Vernau said.

A conference game, the contest against Bucknell will establish positioning going into the playoffs. Penn State will enter the tournament looking to position itself at the pinnacle of the club lacrosse world.

"We have the team to win the championship," Vernau said. "It's just a matter of being able to pull the team together in time."