W. Lacrosse visits Rutgers

Because thrilling victories over national powers and city rivals are tough to come by, teams often suffer emotional letdowns following such wins. This is exactly what Penn women's lacrosse coach Anne Sage wants her team to avoid heading into this afternoon's game at Rutgers. Tuesday night, the 15th-ranked Quakers (3-2) needed overtime to upset 14th-ranked Temple. Penn junior attacker Lori Frutkin provided three goals, two in overtime, and three assists to pace the Quakers in their 12-10 victory. This afternoon, Penn will guard against an emotional letdown in order to continue its recent success. "Temple is definitely an outstanding win," Sage said. "But we can't afford a letdown. The rest of the games are just as important." The Temple game should provide a confidence-booster for the Quakers, who finished 6-9 last season and were already 1-5 at this time a year ago. The difference is in the added experience. In the past few weeks, Penn has taken on three nationally-ranked powers. Second-ranked Loyola and No. 5 Harvard both drubbed the Quakers. But Penn bounced back, and with the younger players gaining experience, the Quakers played a fantastic game against Temple. Rutgers should not provide as stiff a test, but looming April 2 is 13th-ranked Yale, a team also showing a turnaround from last season. But the Quakers cannot afford to look ahead of themselves. In order to continue this successful pattern and turn the Temple win into a momentum-builder, the Quakers must execute solidly against a fine Rutgers squad. "We have to take each game by itself," Sage said. "In our minds, the Rutgers game must be as important as the Temple game." It is only natural the Quakers do not get as psyched up to play Rutgers as they did to combat Temple, but this game is still one which the Quakers need to win. "The Rutgers game is a must-win for us," Sage said. "I have high expectations and high hopes for this team and to meet those hopes we have to continue winning games." The sudden turnaround in the win-loss column is due not only to increased depth and talented younger players, but also in the ability of the wily veterans to step up and deliver. For example, against Temple the Quakers were led by Frutkin, a veteran in her third season at Temple. "We've been cultivating the talent on this team for eight weeks," Sage said. "It's starting to work now, and the younger guys are playing well. But it's been the veterans who have led us so far." If the Quakers are to build on this win and turn it into a streak, the team must continue to blend. But more importantly, the Quakers must avoid a letdown this afternoon against Rutgers.