W. Lax hosts Leopards

The regular season will come to a close today for the Penn women's lacrosse team. The Ivy schedule has been completed, with the Quakers' 3-3 mark placing them fourth in the Ancient Eight. And Penn's national ranking, 14th in the country, will leave them out of the exclusive six-team NCAA Tournament. It would appear that there is little at stake in tonight's game for the Quakers. But that is not necessarily the case. A win for Penn over Lafayette (7 p.m., Franklin Field) could have a few implications for the Quakers, involving the past, present and future. First, the past. It had been five years since Penn finished a season without a losing record (6-6 in 1989). But this year's Quaker team has broken the string of losing seasons, an accomplishment of which the team is proud. "It means a lot to us," sophomore goalie Alexis Seth said. "We worked really hard. We're really excited about it and we're really proud of each other." Penn (8-5) could reach another milestone tonight. The last time a Quaker women's lacrosse team finished with a winning record was 1983. That 1983 team finished with a 9-4 record. With a win tonight, the current Penn squad would equal the '83 team's mark for victories and complete the most successful Quaker campaign in a decade. A win over Lafayette (5-8) might have an immediate impact on Penn as well. According to assistant coach Donna Mulhern, there is a "relatively good chance" the Quakers will receive an invitation to compete in the ECAC Tournament. The tourney is a four-team post-season event, comprised of quality teams not selected for the NCAAs. "It would be a good experience," Mulhern said. "They would learn how to play in the post-season, with the pressure." However, the Quakers hopes of competing in the ECACs may be contingent on winning against Lafayette. A loss might put their hopes in jeopardy. "If we lose, God forbid, it could definitely affect our chances," Mulhern said. "The [tournament] committee seems to take that into account." And defeating Lafayette would not only give Penn a chance at extending its season -- the effects of a strong Quaker finish could carry into next season. As an example, Penn won five of its last eight contests to end last season. The Quakers then began this year confident. "We laid a foundation [last season] and we built on it," Seth said. "It was like, 'This is what we did last year, let's go out and do it.' " A win tonight over Lafayette would be the Quakers' third victory in a row, and sixth in their last eight games. "I think it will definitely carry over to next season," Seth said. "We have a lot of people coming back." So considering everything that could possibly be affected -- past, present and future -- what appeared to be an ordinary game could be much more.