The Penn State women's lacrosse team had a tough year last season, finishing 6-11. But the No. 17 Nittany Lions are already making amends for it this year, as they beat No. 15 Vanderbilt, 15-7, last weekend.

They still have a long way to go but already having beaten Vanderbilt, a team they lost to last year, the Lions seem to be heading in the right direction.

The team is led in net by senior goalkeeper Lee Tortorelli, who is Penn State's all-time leader in saves.

"Everybody just has so much confidence that if they do their job and even if they slip up once or twice that [Tortorelli] is back there to save them," Penn State coach Suzanne Isidor said.

Backing up Tortorelli will be redshirt freshman Cammie Jurkowsky and true freshman Jess Boccio.

Aside from Tortorelli as a strength, the Penn State attack will be something to look out for during the season. Four of the top five goal scorers for Penn State are returning this season. Lori Havrilla, Shari Maslin, Kristen Burke and Emily Chambers, who accounted for 98 goals last season, are all coming back. Added to the mix are sophomores Lindsay Dutch and Karen Long, along with freshmen Kim Kontson and Jessi Lieb. Dutch was already named American Lacrosse Conference player of the week for her performance of four goals against Vanderbilt. Havrilla, Maslin, Chambers and Lauren Bryan will be the core of the midfielders. Maslin led the team last season in draw controls with 27.

"I think our attack is our strength because we have so many weapons this year, so many people that can score and so much speed in the midfield to get the ball down the field. I think we'll be able to beat people in transition a lot," Isidor said. Three starters return from last year's defense. Liz Frandé, Renée Cipro and Kate Townsend forced 23 turnovers in the games they played last year. Seniors Skye Middleton and Sara Ward also figure into the defensive mix.

The defense has the dubious task of stopping the other team from scoring in order to be able to keep Penn State in the game. Last season the Lions lost six games by a one-goal margin, including two overtime games.

"We want to always come out on fire, get an early lead and continue to play every minute like its 0-0 and not be put in that situation. And if we are, then what we learned from those one-goal losses last year," Burke said.

Winning those games will be crucial as the Lions face nine teams currently ranked in the top 20 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll. Of those nine teams, seven are ranked in the top 10, including No. 1 Virginia, No. 2 Princeton and No. 3 Northwestern. Penn State will play four games over spring break. At 6 p.m. today, the Lions will face Bucknell. On Monday they will go against Davidson, March 11 will be the toughest test against the aforementioned Cavaliers from Virginia, and March 13 the Lions will be at William & Mary.