Notebook: W. Lax to battle at Rutgers

Penn coach Karin Brower wants her team to go to the net more aggressively. A little more than halfway through her team's season, and heading into a game tonight at Rutgers, Penn women's lacrosse coach Karin Brower is less than thrilled. Sure, the Quakers are 5-3, with already four more wins than they had all of last season, but Brower is not happy with what she has seen on the field of late. "I'm sick of hearing that we're better than last year, because it's a different team," Brower said. "We should be better than last year, and each year from here on. I don't know if they're settling on that, like, oh great we have five wins. But we can lose the rest of the games, and I've told them that. It's up to them. It's in their hands as to how they want to end this season." Brower was particularly upset about Penn's showing in Sunday afternoon's 11-9 loss to Harvard in which the Quakers were outscored 8-1 to open the game. The Red and Blue seemed reluctant to take the ball to the net against the Crimson until the waning moments of the game when Penn mounted a nearly memorable comeback. "We were a little hesitant until the end, which is frustrating," Penn senior tri-captain Brooke Jenkins said. "I guess people on Sunday weren't confident going to goal, taking their girl when they really could have, including myself. It was frustrating." The reluctance to go to the net was the most baffling aspect of Sunday's loss for Penn. This lack of aggressiveness is particularly vexing for a team that has done a fine job rebounding from adversity. A 1-12 1999 season had most thinking that the Quakers had absolutely nothing to lose in 2000. "They don't know how to go, 'We're losing. Somebody needs to go to goal and it's gonna be me,'" Brower said. "We have to get them to understand that when you're down five goals, there's nothing to lose, go to goal?. This whole year they have nothing to lose, and I'm baffled as to why they don't play that way. We're not supposed to beat anybody." · The Scarlet Knights (4-6) throttled Penn at home last year, 15-3. That Rutgers side, however, is very different from the one that Penn will play today, as the best of last year's New Jerseyans were seniors. When the Scarlet Knights came to Franklin Field last year, they were ranked 11th in the nation and carried an 8-2 record with them. Ten players scored for Rutgers en route to the win, while only Amy Weinstein and Traci Marabella found the net that night for the Quakers. · Marabella's goal against Rutgers last season was one of 12 for her on the season. Now a sophomore, the attacker has scored 20 goals in Penn's first eight games, becoming the first member of the Quakers to tally 20 since Darah Ross and Emily Hansel did it in 1998. "I think I won't be happy until I reach at least 30," Marabella said. "But it feels good. I feel like it's something that I probably should have been able to do last year, and it's nice knowing I have a coach who can push me and bring out my potential." Marabella was named to the Ivy League's weekly honor roll yesterday for her hat trick against the Crimson on Sunday and two goals against La Salle last Tuesday night. · When Penn beat the Explorers eight days ago, it extended their non-conference record to an impressive 4-0. While the teams that the Quakers have played outside of the Ivy League have not been as tough as their Ancient Eight foes, the Scarlet Knights are comparable to Harvard. "[Rutgers] is our chance to really prove that we really are a better team," Marabella said. "Everyone knows that we're better than 1-12, but the teams we've played aren't very strong. This is a big game for us because it'll show that we are really a different team." · So far this season, five of the Quakers have notched 10 or more goals. Last year, only three -- Jenkins, Marabella and Weinstein -- did so. This year, Marabella and Jenkins have been joined by 10-goal scorers freshmen Crissy Book (13), Jayme Munnelly (10) and Kate Murray (10).