W. Lax opens with No. 9 JMU

Last season, the Penn women's lacrosse team had its best year since 1994, finishing 8-9 and going to the postseason for the first time in seven years.

But Penn coach Karin Brower is not concerned with improving that record this season.

The reason?

This year, the Quakers have stacked their lineup with five national powerhouses, including new schedule additions Duke, James Madison and Loyola. Those three accompany traditional Ivy heavyweights Princeton and Dartmouth.

"Our goal is to be a better team than last year," Brower said. "To get somewhere in lacrosse, you have to play better teams."

The Quakers will take on the first of those top-20 teams tomorrow when they travel to Harrisonberg, Va., to face James Madison.

The Dukes are ranked No. 9 by Laxpower.com. Penn is No. 54 in the same poll.

"JMU is a very good team, very fast in the midfield," Brower said. "The team went to the tournament last year, so they have a lot of experience."

The Red and Blue will look to counter the Dukes' quick midline with two experienced midfielders and a highly-talented freshman class.

Penn midfielder Crissy Book, a regional all-American and all-Ivy last season, looks to key the Quakers' midfield attack tomorrow. The junior captain scored 20 goals and racked up 55 groundballs last season.

Another strong Quakers' midfielder is sophomore Lindsey Cassidy. Cassidy scored five goals and had two assists in her freshman campaign and will be swinging between midfield and defense.

"Cassidy is just a much more composed and confident player this year," Brower said. "She great at getting turnovers... she can spark the team."

The Quakers have an unusual number of captains -- four -- this season. Along with Book, Penn's captains are defender Christy Bennett, attacker Jenny Hartman and midfielder/attacker Tracey Marabella.

Bennett has been a regional all-American the past two years, leading the Quakers with 70 groundballs last season.

"She's our No. 1 matchup defender," Brower said of Bennett. "She's very inspirational in her play to team members."

One of the reasons the Quakers have four captains is the large number of freshmen they have on the team this season. Three rookies -- Katie Spoford, Kate Miller and Allie Juras -- will be starting in tomorrow's contest.

"I think the whole group as a whole is really stepping up and playing a leadership role for the freshmen," Brower said. "But it's great having four different people the freshmen can go to."

The Quakers have already played three scrimmages on Franklin Field this season. Penn fell to Syracuse, but rebounded to tie Towson and beat Ohio State.

The youthful Quakers will have a baptism by fire this weekend against the Dukes, but Brower is optimistic.

"It's going to be a tough opener, to say the least," she said. "But we're excited to see what we can do."

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