As soon as the Penn State women's lacrosse team stepped off the plane yesterday, it loaded all the luggage onto a bus -- and immediately headed to a practice field on Northwestern's campus.
The Nittany Lions got their equipment ready and pulled their hair out of their faces on the ride over. They didn't want to miss out on any practice time with the upcoming American Lacrosse Conference championship in Evanston, Ill.
At 2 p.m. today, the fifth-seeded Lions (4-11, 0-4 ALC) will face Ohio State (10-7, 1-3) in the first round of the championship. This is the second consecutive season the two teams will face each other in the first game. The Lions won the contest last season, and lead the Buckeyes in the all-time series, 9-4.
"We have been playing against these girls for a long time," senior defender Linsey Shea said. "We know what they are going to bring."
The Lions seemed unprepared earlier this season when they suffered a 17-12 loss to their conference rival. Penn State coach Suzanne Isidor said her team made too many mistakes in that contest, and Ohio State was able to capitalize on each one.
At practice this week, the Lions have been focusing on limiting their turnovers, something they struggled with in the regular season matchup. They have also been watching film on Ohio State's star attacker, Kristen Slahor, who is up for ALC player of the year.
After watching Slahor's playing style, coaches created several new defensive plays to limit her shots on goal.
"Right now, we are focusing on limiting Ohio State's offense," Shea said. "They have one of the best attackers in the country. We are going into the game ready to fight."
The championship will begin today and conclude with the ALC title game on Sunday. If the Lions continue to win, they will play three games in three days. Junior attacker Mariel Bryan said the short span of time will take a toll on the players' already-aching bodies.
Last night as the players settled into their hotel rooms, they giggled as stories were told by their teammates. The laughter didn't last too long, though, because the conversation turned to the championship.
Bryan said the Lions know exactly what to expect from their first-round opponents.
"They're going to be on fire," Bryan said. "They came out on fire in the last game, and they will this time, too."
