W. Lax to open at home with Lafayette

Taking to its home turf for the first time in this 2000 season, the Penn women's lacrosse team (2-2) hopes that a big victory is in the cards when it faces Lafayette (1-2) at Franklin Field at 7 p.m. tonight. The Quakers, who have defeated American and Villanova this spring by a combined 16 goals, are hoping to rebound from a lethargic showing in a 15-5 loss at Cornell on Saturday. And the team knows what it can improve upon from that defeat. "Intensity -- in general, as a whole team -- is what we're working on," Penn senior Lee Ann Sechovicz said. The Quakers were held to their lowest goal output this spring in Ithaca, N.Y., taking only 18 shots. The Big Red, by contrast, fired off 42 shots. This discrepancy can be traced to Penn's struggles with ground balls and moving through the midfield against the double-team. "It's not that we have to change a whole lot. We just have to stick to our game and do the things that we do well," Penn coach Karin Brower said. "And you have to win the ground balls, and that's all about heart. "I know this team can do it if they want it badly enough and they do what they're supposed to do." Last season, despite two goals apiece from Brooke Jenkins and Amy Weinstein, Penn fell to the Leopards, 14-7. Jenkins, who is second on the Red and Blue with nine goals this spring, will be called upon to lead the Quakers attack. Joining her are sophomore Traci Marabella (11 goals) and freshmen Crissy Book (eight goals) and Kate Murray (four goals). Although Penn sports a half-dozen frosh in the starting lineup, the youngsters have executed well in their four outings. Freshmen have combined to net 23 of Penn's 44 goals. "I think the freshmen are doing a great job," Sechovicz said. "They're doing exactly what they need to do." The day after the Penn loss to Cornell, Brower -- who has shown great confidence in her first-year players -- traveled to Easton, Pa., to watch Lafayette take on Monmouth. The Leopards picked up their first win, 13-11. "Lafayette is just real aggressive. They really want the ball," Brower said. "Monmouth stepped up the pressure in the second half, and Lafayette kind of fell apart a little bit, but they never lost the lead." One reason why the Leopards did not fall apart was the offensive leadership of sophomore Heather McLelland and senior Olivia Long. McLelland, the 1999 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, netted five goals against Monmouth and has nine on the season. Long, a second team All-Patriot selection last year, has added nine goals of her own. According to Brower, the Leopards offense utilizes speed in much the same way as Cornell did. And while Brower also describes her own squad as "very fast," containing opposing speedsters is something Penn needs to be concerned with. The last time the Quakers defeated the Leopards was at Franklin Field in 1997, by a score of 16-11. Only three current Penn players, senior tri-captains Jenkins, Sechovicz and Bethany Stafford, remain from that squad. But Sechovicz is confident Penn can do it once again on its home turf. "There's something about playing on Franklin Field," Sechovicz said. "And we only have five home games, so we're psyched -- hopefully we'll have a good crowd. "All I know is that we can beat them, and we are going to beat them."

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