W. Lax loses to Crimson, now faces fourth-ranked Loyola

Loyola. 'Nuff said. That seems to be the opinion of the Penn women's lacrosse team heading into tonight's road contest against fourth-ranked Loyola. The Quakers (1-1) head into the game coming off their first loss of the season at the hands of Harvard. After manhandling Villanova 16-3 in the season-opener, the Quakers played host to the Crimson, which escaped Franklin Field with a 7-2 win. Though Penn was held in check by the talented Harvard squad, Crimson coach Carole Kleinfelder saw signs of improvement in the Quakers. "This is a better Penn team than I've seen in a few years," Kleinfelder said. "Their defense was much better than we had anticipated." Both Kleinfelder and Penn coach Anne Sage chalked Penn's woes up to the Quakers' youth and inexperience. "The attack showed the signs of their youth," Kleinfelder said. "They got a little anxious and threw the ball away a few times." Sage, though upset with the loss, was quick to point out the positives. "These players are still learning," Sage said. "We were under some intense pressure, but we still played well." The Quakers will be the recipients of important on-the-field training tonight, as they will have their hands full with the Greyhounds. "We're going to have to get back to fundamentals," Sage said. "Loyola is a great team. It's a good game for our players to play." The Quaker attack is anchored by junior Lori Frutkin and sophomore Amy Shapiro. The tandem has combined for five goals and five assists. Junior attacker Katie Burg has scored four goals on five shots for an incredible 80.0 shooting percentage. These young guns will go into tonight's contest looking to pepper the Greyhounds' goaltender. Penn hopes to score some goals. But this figures to be no easy task, for Loyola is led by a group of stellar senior defensemen. Either way, this is a win-win situation for the Quakers. Should they emerge victorious from tonight's contest, they will have tucked under their belts a win against a perennial national power and sent a message to the rest of the Ivy League. But even if they lose, they are in a position to gain a season's worth of experience in one outing. And it is clear that experience is what the Quakers need. "They are a young team," Kleinfelder said. "They're going to be scary once they get some experience." That's exactly what the Quakers are looking to get tonight against Loyola.