W. Lax eager to meet city-rival Temple

Few events can compete with a crosstown rivalry. A subway series. A heated, intense struggle between two teams vying for local attention. Various images spring immediately to mind. New York baseball in the 1950s, with the Dodgers, Yankees and Giants. Watching Duke play Carolina in hoops. The Hurricanes and Seminoles on the gridiron. The list goes on and on. For any Philadelphian, it's the Big 5. A game involving Penn, Temple, Villanova, La Salle, or St. Joseph's gets Philly sports fans' voices cheering, bar taps flowing and hearts pumping as nothing but the cholesterol from a Philly cheesesteak can. Today at 3 p.m., the Penn women's lacrosse team heads crosstown to play rival Temple in a crucial intra-city matchup for the Red and Blue. "Temple games are always a battle," Penn assistant coach Donna Mulhern said. "They are a physically intense squad that plays right around the corner, so obviously both teams want to do well." Mired in a three game losing streak, the Quakers look to rebound versus the Owls, an extremely physical team according to most of Penn's athletes. "Temple is a very explosive team," Penn coach Anne Sage said. "They are very offensive-minded and just came off a big win versus Old Dominion." To win, according to midfielder Kelly McCollian, the Quakers must reduce their turnovers. They average over 20 per game. "To win we have to concentrate on fundamentals and work on our transition game," McCollian said. "Last game we rushed our transition and had too many turnovers." In addition to reducing turnovers, Mulhern focused on time of possession as the vital concern for a Penn squad that had difficulty getting the ball out of its own half of the field this past Saturday at Cornell. "We can't score unless our attack has the ball," Mulhern said. "There is too much pressure on our defense if the ball is in our end for the whole game." The Quakers suffered a disappointing 10-8 setback against the Big Red, last year's Ivy League cellar dweller. "We underestimated Cornell," junior attacker Alanna Wrenn said. "We had a rough first half and missed several open scoring opportunities." To counter the weekend's disappointment, the Red and Blue look to come back strong versus the Owls. "Temple should be a tough game versus a city rival," Wrenn said. "They are a physical, aggressive team which plays together well." "It's important for our confidence and our outlook toward the rest of the season," Mulhern said. "After losing three in a row, we want to play well." The Cherry and White are looking to avenge last year's 12-10 overtime loss, and according to Sage, the Red and Blue must be aware of the hungry Owls. "Since we won in overtime last year they'll be playing with thoughts of revenge," Sage said. "I'd like to see us come back, eliminate turnovers and play with more consistency."