W. Lax wary of letdown versus lowly Cornell squad

According to Lacrosse Magazine's women's collegiate preview, Cornell is clearly the worst team in the Ivy League. With the Ivy League having four teams ranked, and two more receiving votes, however, the league is a national powerhouse, and none of the teams can be counted out -- not even Cornell, which finished last season with a dismal 4-10 overall record. The Big Red opens its season on its home turf tomorrow against the Quakers (1-2, 0-1 Ivy League), who are continuing to improve as the young season wears on. The Quakers are coming off a 10-9 heartbreaking double-overtime loss to sixth-ranked Loyola Tuesday night but, according to coach Anne Sage, Penn is currently "on a roll." No matter what kind of roll the Quakers are on, however, both Sage and the team are not counting Cornell, or any opponent, out of the picture. "I don't worry about the opposition," Sage said. "I'll prepare the team, and see what Cornell has to offer." The Big Red is a reasonably young team, but have three of its four top scorers return from last season. Goaltending, however, will be a key factor in Cornell's success this season, as both goaltenders on the roster are new to the Big Red team. Penn, on the other hand, lost five players after last season, but return all three top scorers, including Lori Frutkin, who is currently sixth on Penn's all-time scoring list. Also returning is goaltender Alexis Seth, who has a .474 save percentage. Cornell has a tough zone defense, which should challenge the thus-far inconsistent Quakers attack. One key to success for the Red and Blue will be getting more shots on goal, as opponents have outshot them 79-61 in three games. In addition, Penn will need to improve its defense and limit opponents' shots, almost 50 percent of which have found their way into the Quakers' net. Last year, Penn crushed the Big Red, 16-7, in Cornell's season opener on Franklin Field, but since then Cornell has shown considerable improvement. The Big Red ended last season on a high note, winning its last two games against Drexel and Rutgers. Cornell, however, went 0-6 in Ivy matchups. Despite being unranked in the season's initial top 15, Penn received votes and hopes to eventually be ranked during the course of the season. "We're going into each game hoping to be the spoiler," Sage said. To win at Cornell, however, the Quakers will not have to spoil anything, except possibly the Big Red's pride.