Klitzman | Another Wildcats rivalry

EVANSTON, Ill., April 26 - As the Penn women's lacrosse team has risen to national prominence over the last three seasons, only one team has stood in its path.

Northwestern has overshadowed the Quakers' rise with its own dominant run as four-time national champions.

In these three seasons, the two squads have faced off five times. The Wildcats dominated the first two meetings in 2007, winning 13-4 in Evanston, Ill., and then 12-2 in the NCAA Final Four.

Then last year Penn finally beat the Wildcats, winning 11-7 at home and ending Northwestern's 36-game winning streak. But the Wildcats got revenge in the NCAA Final, beating the Quakers, 10-6, to clinch their fourth-straight championship.

Most recently, Penn traveled to Evanston Saturday as the No. 3 team in the nation, prepared to face fellow unbeaten No. 1 Northwestern. But yet again the Big Ten school took the contest, 11-9.

In all five of these games both teams have been ranked, and besides the 2007 regular-season matchup, the game has been a top-five contest. With so much on the line every time these teams face off, they both get pumped up for these games.

Does this mean that Penn and Northwestern have become big-time rivals?

At first the answer appears to be no. But all things considered, this might turn into something quite special.

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All the classic rivalries in sports, especially in college, have several key elements. I'd say the big ones are: physical proximity, consistently close games, regular important competitions and an external reason to despise the other team.

The first one is not necessarily required. While North Carolina and Duke are famously just eight miles apart, USC-Notre Dame football is historically a big-time rivalry. (Although in recent years it's declined since the second criteria has not been met.) But for the most part close proximity intensifies rivalries.

Northwestern and Penn, meanwhile, are nearly 800 miles apart.

Second, and perhaps most importantly, the games must be close. Similarly, for a rivalry to be at its best, the series should be evenly matched without one team dominating over a given period of time.

In the Northwestern-Penn series this factor definitely has been lacking. Before the win last year, Penn had been outscored by Northwestern 55-20 in the previous four matchups, and Saturday's 11-9 game was the closest one yet (and it wasn't even as close as it seems).

However, the last two factors certainly apply. As stated above, these teams have played five times since March 2007. Each time the stakes are slightly higher as they jockey for poll position or meet in the Final Four.

And with its high-profile losses, Penn definitely has external motivation to beat the Wildcats. It might become cliche, but every time Penn plays Northwestern, the Quakers are constantly talking about how they're trying to avenge a loss.

Even Northwestern gets up for this game. The current seniors have remarkably never lost to a team twice in their careers. So after the Penn victory last April, they don't take Penn lightly, regardless of their dominance in the series prior to last year.

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Whether this is a true, classic rivalry might appear a little ambiguous. But ask the players and coaches of both sides, and the answer is clear.

"It's a huge rivalry," Penn senior defense Katie Mazer said Saturday. "It's always a good game."

Penn coach Karin Brower agreed that facing the Wildcats creates good matchups, since "they make you play your best lacrosse. It's exciting."

Of course, a rivalry is not a one-way street (ask Maryland and Duke), but it seems like the Northwestern players genuinely get excited to face Penn.

"We've developed quite a rivalry with Penn over the past few years," Wildcats senior Hannah Nielsen said. "They know how to play us, and we know how to play them, and we've had some great games in the last couple of years."

Part of the reason Northwestern is willing to admit Penn is a rival, is that Northwestern simply is too good to have another rival. It hasn't lost a conference game in 27 tries dating back to 2005. And with losses to only three teams in that span, it's not like they have many teams to hate.

Similarly, Penn's default rival for any sport, Princeton, hasn't exactly been challenging Penn recently: The last three games have gone to Penn by a combined 13 goals.

In the end, it doesn't matter if Penn-Northwestern doesn't conform to your standard rivalry. With no other teams grabbing their attention, these two squads will circle the next meeting on their calendars.

And just maybe that date will be May 24 for the National Championship.

Zach Klitzman is a junior history major from Bethesda, Md., and is Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is klitzman@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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