No rest for the weary.

No doubt the Penn State women's lacrosse team is mentally and physically drained after losing in the final seconds to Delaware on Wednesday, but it must get ready for No. 2 Northwestern (10-1) as it comes to town for a nationally televised game at noon Sunday at Jeffrey Field.

The No. 18 Nittany Lions (5-7) need to be on top of their game in order to combat the potent Wildcats offense and aggressive defense they will be facing in a contest that will be broadcast on College Sports Television.

The Northwestern game begins the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC) portion of the Lions' schedule. If Penn State has any hope of making it to the postseason, it'll need to run the table in the ALC.

"We can decide what to make of our season," head coach Suzanne Isidor said. "It's under our control."

Penn State already owns one victory in the conference, as the Lions beat Vanderbilt 9-8 in the season opener.

The Wildcats were last season's national champions, capping an undefeated season. They lost most recently to Duke last Friday, breaking their own 31-game winning streak.

"Northwestern is an awesome team," Isidor said. "We need to be tough mentally and physically."

She also mentioned being poised with the ball. The Lions did a fairly decent job with that against the Blue Hens. They only had 16 turnovers, seven of which were unforced. The Lions will be working on improving their defense in preparation for Northwestern, as their double teams and slides need to improve to stop the Wildcats. The Lions took yesterday off, a day they normally practice, and they will resume their training today. If Isidor has anything to say, though, the Lions should be using their minds instead of their bodies.

"We have to do some soul searching," she said.