W. Lax hopes practice pays off against Rutgers' power

One of the surest ways to improve in any sport is to play top-level competition. The Penn women's lacrosse team has already faced Temple, Yale and Loyola (Md.), all three of which are top-20 teams. The Quakers (4-5, 2-2 Ivy League) were beaten by double digit margins all three times but played each succeeding team tougher than the last. Tomorrow, the Quakers travel to New Brunswick, N.J., to face Rutgers (6-3), another team on the verge of a top-20 ranking. For Penn, intensity has been the buzzword all week. After a lackluster performance against Lafayette Monday night, the Red and Blue will concentrate on stickwork and passing -- in addition to running competitive drills -- in preparation for Thursday's game against the Scarlet Knights. "They are a very physical team. They got some votes to be ranked so they're obviously good, but they are also aggressive and don't back down from a challenge," Penn assistant coach Alanna Wren said. "We cannot afford to be tentative against them." The swarming Rutgers defense has yet to allow more than 10 goals in a game, which may present problems for the Quakers. Although senior co-captains Darah Ross and Emily Hansel have had no trouble finding the net in recent games, the offense shows signs of inconsistency, as it did against Lafayette. "The girls didn't hustle on Monday. But against these top-20 teams, you have to make sure your fundamentals are sound -- stickwork, passing and getting after groundballs. We need to work on our spacing and be more aggressive to the ball," Penn coach Anne Sage said. The Knights are led by midfielder Robin Erthal, who was selected to the U.S. National Team last year and helped Rutgers claim the 14th spot in the top-20 rankings. The Knights this season have all the right pieces to equal last year's mark. While outscoring opponents 91-43 on the season, the Knights have capitalized on a roster full of scorers. Last game alone, nine Rutgers players found the back of the net. "We've heard a lot about how good they are but we have played top-20 competition before, so we won't be intimidated," Quaker sophomore goalie Melissa Rantz said. "We have to be aggressive and go after groundballs because if we don't do that, then any team would be able to beat us." While the competition may be high in caliber, the specific matchup with Rutgers presents more than skill on the field. "We have a special rivalry with Rutgers. They have beaten us by one goal for two years in a row. They have looked very sharp this year, so our basics have to be solid to compete with them," Ross said. Luckily for Penn, about half of the starters are freshmen who will have no recollection of past losses to the Knights. "We are a young team and we start five freshmen, so there is definitely some nervous energy out there," Wren said. "We have been inconsistent on the road before, but if we get our fundamentals down, that should go away. We seem a lot slower on grass. I don't know if it's just the visual effect, but our groundballs and movement seem to take a lot longer." Another highly touted feature of Knights' lacrosse is Yurcak Field. Named for an alumnus from 1965, the field was used as a practice facility for the U.S. National Soccer Team during the 1994 World Cup and is considered one of the best college lacrosse venues on the East Coast. Unfortunately for Penn, Yurcak features a 120 foot by 75 foot grass playing surface, which may slow down the Quakers.