For the No. 17 Penn State men's lacrosse team, one goal made all the difference.

In the final game of the 2006 season, the Nittany Lions' push for a second straight ECAC title fell short with a 10-9 loss to Georgetown, also ending their hopes for an NCAA tournament bid.

Although tomorrow's exhibition game against Lehigh won't count in the standings, the players are looking at the game much differently.

"You gotta practice like you play; scrimmage, game, practice. No matter what, you go 110 percent," senior captain Dan Saltsman said. "You give your best effort and you can't let up. It's a game to us -- the season has started."

Learning from last season's disappointing finish, the team's goal is to finish in the NCAA Final Four. With the motto, "The time is now," Penn State is playing with a sense of urgency, even if it's a scrimmage.

"In the past we've always talked about how we've had a great team, great returning players," senior captain Pat Heim said. "We always say to ourselves, 'We're gonna be a lot more serious this year.' We always talk about it, but we never really do it. The coaches are saying, 'Stop talking about it. Do what you're saying you're going to do.'

" 'The time is now' is we're gonna do it, we're gonna make some sacrifices."

The team plans to finally take advantage of its strengths, specifically its strong veteran players. The defense will be the core unit, with sophomore Drew Adams in goal and captains Saltsman and Matt Mulqueen leading the back.

On attack, the Lions will feature a different look. Relying on senior Brian Boyle, sophomore Rob Forster and junior Andrew Mackrides, the offense will take a more team-oriented approach to scoring. Both Boyle and Forster have been nursing injuries throughout the preseason, and Mackrides missed last season with an ankle injury. Also, losing attackers John Eremus and Nate Whitaker, who ranks fourth all-time in goals scored for the Lions, will hurt, but head coach Glenn Thiel thinks the current trio can get the job done.

"Once they all get together and we get through the bumps and bruises we have now, we'll have a very dynamic, slick and skillful attack unit," Thiel said.

In addition to a new front three, the Lions will be untested at the face-off. Devin Madden, a junior transfer from St. John's, will try to fill the void left by Greg Guren-lian, who dominated in draws last year.

"You kind of win and lose lacrosse games on how good your face-off is," Thiel said. "We're a little untested at face-off."

Thiel acknowledged that the competition will be tough this year, but the No. 17 Lions are undeterred by preseason predictions.

"Every year, we're always ranked preseason 15th or 17th, and fourth in the league," Heim said. "It might bother some players, but it motivates me more to prove that we are better than we look on paper. We don't care what the rankings are."