Just past the midpoint of the season, Penn State's loss to the Tar Heels was its first to a ranked opponent. Until that defeat, the Lions' biggest pet peeve had been unranked foes. Temple and William & Mary received rankings following their wins against the Lions.
Tomorrow, the No. 7 Lions (6-3, 2-0 ALC) will look to avoid the two-loss pair that they have eluded so far this season, when they face unranked Loyola (3-5) at 1 p.m. in Baltimore.
The Greyhounds, like the Lions, have faced top-notch competition this season. Three of their five losses have been to top-25 opponents, including a one-goal defeat at the hands of North Carolina.
Loyola heads into tomorrow fresh off a 15-3 victory against George Mason on Wednesday at home.
The Lions, on the other hand, have had a full week to practice for the first time since the days leading up to the season-opener against Vanderbilt and, according to head coach Suzanne Isidor, that preparation time should have a positive impact on her team.
"The last three weeks of our schedule have been pretty brutal," Isidor said. "We haven't had a lot of time to prepare between games, not a lot of time to breathe and say, 'OK, we've got to refocus.' I think this week has been really good."
During practice this week the Lions have focused on their one-on-one defense in order to prevent Loyola's offensive playmakers, which Isidor said are the Greyhound's strength, from getting open scoring opportunities.
With the week behind them, the Lions will look to defeat Loyola for the first time on the road since the 1993 season. The Lions have lost to the Greyhounds by one goal in each of their last two meetings.
"We have no excuses. We should be focused and fired up," Isidor said. "As long as we come out with that fire, and we can execute the things that we need to execute, we feel like we're going to be OK."
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