W. Lax | Sister act at Bigler

Marisa Lozano, Penn State's leading scorer, will have her big sister there at Bigler Field to watch her take on the Penn women's lacrosse team tonight.

But her sister won't be there for support - Gloria Lozano will be on the opposing team's sideline.

The elder Lozano has been Penn's assistant coach for five years.

"She is really a good quarterback for them," Gloria Lozano said of her little sister. "She is normally low behind the goal and she is a big feeder for them. She is definitely dangerous back there."

According to coach Karin Brower, the senior attacker is having her best season yet. With 11 goals and five assists so far, Lozano will be an offensive threat for the No. 15 Nittany Lions (4-2). Brower feels she cannot be left unguarded.

Penn State, similar to the Quakers (5-0, 1-0), has a well-balanced offense with a number of players capable of hitting the back of the net. There are eight players on the Nittany Lions' roster with five or more goals this season, while the No. 5 Red and Blue have five.

Freshman Erin Brennan is one of these Penn scorers; she has tallied eight goals this season. Brennan and the rest of the Quakers attack will be facing Penn State's Stephanie Ellis in goal. Ellis has saved 38 of the 107 shots taken on her this season.

"[We need to] keep on practicing shooting and seeing behind the goalie," Brennan said. "We need to take that with us and really focus on shooting."

Faking out goalies has not been an issue for the Quakers thus far. Courtney Lubbe recorded five goals against North Carolina, while Emma Spiro netted four against Boston University, and Ali DeLuca tallied three against Yale.

But in order to get shots off, the Quakers will also have to overcome the strength of Penn State's junior defender, Margo Joseph. Joseph has caused 17 turnovers this season, the fifth-highest total in the nation.

The Quakers have dictated the tempo of every game this season. They won all of the 14 draws taken in their last contest against Yale. They will need to look to their draw-winning players, including Katie Mazer and Giulia Giordono, both of whom grabbed three draws against Yale, to maintain control of the game for a full 60 minutes.

Last season's game against Penn State ended in a decisive 14-7 Quakers victory. Although Penn shut down the Nittany Lions' offense for the first 40 minutes of play, Penn State came back with four unanswered goals toward the end of the game.

"Last year [we were] ahead by a lot and then they started taking it to us," Brower said. "It's a good rivalry."

The Lozano sisters, of course, know a little something about rivalries themselves.