Last chance at home for W. Lax

The Penn women's lacrosse team has had some trouble getting motivated for games against the nation's elite teams this season, so it comes as bad news for the Quakers that the fourth-ranked team in the latest IWLCA poll visits Franklin Field at 7:30 p.m. But the Red and Blue's visitor tonight is more than just another top team. It's Princeton. After suffering a 20-2 shellacking at the hands of Dartmouth on Friday night, the Quakers (1-10, 1-4 Ivy League) have been re-energized by both their visitor and this week's practices. "Yesterday was really constructive," said Penn assistant coach Alanna Wren, who has been leading the Quakers for over a month and a half since the team petitioned for the removal of head coach Anne Sage. "And we took it light on Sunday, doing some stuff that reminds you of why you play lacrosse, not just having them sprint every two minutes." The game will be the first tangle with the Tigers (10-2, 4-0) for Penn's freshmen, who are eager to get out onto the field. "It's exciting playing Princeton," Penn freshman Ella Masson said. "We all know that we have nothing to lose and this is our last home game and this is Princeton. We're just ready to pull it together and apply everything that we've learned in practice." The last home game of the season marks the Quakers' last chance to avoid a winless season at Franklin Field. With Penn feeling motivated, the Tigers will not be looking past tonight's game, especially given the rivalry's past. "You can't take any team lightly at this time of year," Princeton coach Chris Sailer said. "In 1993, we were one of the top-ranked teams, came down there and lost to Penn. We know that they have good players and they'll be ready to play." In 1993, Wren was a freshman on the Quakers squad which bested the Tigers 7-6 for Princeton's only loss of the season. "It's probably the best memory that I have in sports," Wren said. "It's a lot like [that] now. The odds obviously aren't stacked in our favor but I hope that this opponent will motivate the team. If you can't get up for Princeton, there's a problem." Without the normal problem of finding motivation this week, the Quakers have been free to work on a plan to defend against the prolific Princeton attack which, led by Cristi Samaras' 33 tallies, has put 138 goals in the net this season -- the second highest in the Ivy League. Penn's 61 goals scored rank as the lowest total in the loop and its 141 goals against are by far the highest of any Ancient Eight squad this season. "It's a toss-up as to whether Samaras or [Dartmouth's Jacque] Wetzel is the best attacker in the country," Wren said. "But the defense also has to shut down their [other] scorers." The Quakers have their work cut out for them tonight but Penn will take the field aware of what will be needed to pull off the upset. "It'd be really nice to beat them," Penn junior co-captain Brooke Jenkins said. "We have to go out tomorrow knowing that we have nothing to lose and they have everything to lose, so we just have to give it our best."

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