Tonight, W. Lax out for a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Off to their best start since 1980, some members of the No. 11 Penn women's lacrosse team believe they still aren't getting their due respect.

Now they have one less reason to think so.

After the then-No. 14 Quakers (8-1, 3-0 Ivy League) beat then-No. 12 Johns Hopkins (6-4) 12-4 and Columbia (3-6, 0-3) 14-6 last week, coach Karin Brower was named the U.S. Lacrosse Coach of the Week.

"I didn't even know that award existed until someone told me I had won it," Brower said. "I wish the whole coaching staff could have won it, since they all deserve it. They're doing a great job of getting the girls to listen to us and do their part."

The Quakers will try to continue their blistering start as they travel today to take on No. 10 Penn State (7-2). If the Quakers win tonight, it will be their best start ever in the 34-year history of the program.

Even though it's not an Ivy League game, the Quakers are still looking forward to this matchup.

"They get a lot of respect, especially in the preseason," senior co-captain Sarah Eastburn said. "We don't get the same respect that they do. In some ways this is a big test for us. But if we keep playing the way we have we should pass."

Besides gaining respect, there are other motivating factors as well.

"It's a great rivalry," Brower said. "Everyone always asks me where I coach and when I say 'Penn' they say, 'Oh Penn State, they're good.' We get a lot of parents since it's a big game" despite the fact that it's a road game.

Last year's game fit the mold. Although they were ranked 20, the Quakers upset the No. 13 Nittany Lions 8-6 at home. On the other hand, the last time the Quakers visited Happy Valley, in 2005, No. 5 Penn State defeated No. 15 Penn 16-9.

Again, they're lower-ranked than their Happy Valley counterparts. Yet this time they believe they're the team to beat.

"We beat them last year, so yeah, I think we can easily beat them again this year," Brower said. "They had a big win over Princeton and a nice win over Louisville this past weekend, but I think we can win.

"We know what their plays are since we've seen them a couple of times," she said. "They have strong middies who do well, but if we play our game, they'll have to rise to the occasion to beat us."

This simple plan aims to rely on the Quakers' strengths on both sides of the field.

"Right now the team is playing as one huge unit," Eastburn said. "The defense is coming together, and the offense is doing a good job running and scoring off of the plays."

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