Aug. 8, 2008

It's never too early.

With the 2008 season in the books, our neuroses turn to 2009. From Division I to Division III, MCLA to WDIA, we're spanning the college lacrosse globe for a look at what's in store for coaches and players. Check back to LMO each Friday for a new Q&A feature, as our "Countdown to '09" series continues.

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by Jac Coyne, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

In a regular season game against Northwestern on April 27, then-sophomore Ali DeLuca was kept out of the scoring column, even though Penn rolled to an 11-7, upset victory over the defending-champion Wildcats. In the rematch in the NCAA Division I women's lacrosse championship game, DeLuca paced the Quakers in scoring, but it was Northwestern with the final advantage, 10-6.

It was just one of the changes between the two schools from the first and second meetings, but one thing that won't change if and when they meet again in 2009 is DeLuca's strong presence for Penn. DeLuca followed up an impressive freshman campaign, in which she helped lead then-surprise Penn to its first final four, with 26 goals and 14 assists in '08 - good for third on the Quakers.

Those ahead of her graduated, and it will be DeLuca firmly on the minds of Penn's opponents this year. Countdown checked in to see if she was up for the task.

Penn wins the first match-up by four; Northwestern wins the second (and national championship) by four. Who wins a rubber match if you play a third?

At this point, it's a toss-up. They learned from their mistakes when we played the first time, and we learned from our mistakes after the final. It would be a good game. It's always tough to take your first loss, but most of the time you improve from it. When we lost to Stanford, we realized how much more needed to be done if we wanted a successful season. I think that this third game would be a good match-up after both teams learning from their mistakes and fixing them.

What was the pivotal difference between those two results?

I think that we went into that first game against Northwestern with nothing to lose. I think people expected it to be another loss to Northwestern, but we went in there not expecting anything; knowing we had nothing to lose and everything to gain. That was the mentality we had.

In the finals, Northwestern did step it up and learned from the mistakes they made against us. There was maybe a sense of nervousness on our team, knowing we had a lot more to lose because it was the finals. Our first game, we went in thinking nothing of it, and then the final we put a lot of pressure on ourselves, and I think that was a big factor.

You mentioned it earlier: The third game of the season, Penn travelled to the West Coast and Stanford handled you guys pretty easily, considering what Penn went on to accomplish. Was that a bit of a wake-up call for Penn? What did you talk about as a team after that?

It was a complete wake-up call. We go to California - beautiful weather, different atmosphere - and we went in thinking this was going to be a breeze, like it was going to be a vacation for us. But it was a wake-up call that we couldn't take anyone lightly. Sometimes you do need that one loss to pull yourself together, because going through the whole season undefeated, you'd probably get a little cocky, I'm sure.

After the game, we were kind of disappointed in ourselves, because I don't think we expected that loss. We just needed to take a step back and evaluate what needed to be changed. After that, everything was great. Every game we went into, whether it was Northwestern or any other team, we didn't focus on who they were, but instead we went into it just playing Penn lacrosse.

Your older sister, Krystina, plays at Brown and you hold a 2-0 record against her. Do you give Krystina a little grief when you get together or do you leave that alone?

It's weird when I play her. I try hard not to recognize her as my sister. I kind of just try to picture her as any other opponent. I remember when she beat me and scored. I was talking to someone in the stands after the game and they said, "You were so mad!" After the game, we kind of joked about it. It's the classic little sister-big sister rivalry. During the summer when we get together and play, we set all that aside.

Did you guys grow up making each other better on the lacrosse field?

We did, actually. My younger sister is going to be a senior this year, so she is sort of looking at colleges now. With Krystina and I, we're close in age, so we did everything together. We played the same sports and were kind of tomboys. There were always times when we'd go out in the backyard and pass around or shoot some hoops. She definitely made me better and being sisters, we definitely had a connection on the field, especially in high school. It's kind of hard to play without her, and she definitely made me better, and I'm sure I gave her some competition, as well.

Your younger sister, is she going to follow in one of your footsteps or she going to try her own path?

She's actually looking at colleges now and she's into lacrosse. She's looking at a couple of different places. I've had the best of both worlds. I'm only 14 months apart from my older sister, so I got to play with her in high school, and then we she graduated my younger sister was able to play with me.

Does one parent wear Penn gear and the other Brown stuff when you and Krystina play each other?

I think they wear neutral or one wears one of the colors. I know they tend to sit in the middle of the stands so I don't think they root for one team or another. I think they do their best to not favor one team or another. After our games, you can always see them running from tailgate to tailgate, but they always manage to handle it.

Rachel Manson and Melissa Lehman graduate, leaving you as the leading returning scorer. Should we expect you to be the focus of the Quakers' offense next year, or are there still plenty of scorers to carry the load?

All of the seven seniors played, and they were a big part of our team. We're losing a lot of hard work, dedication and great skills, so that's going to be tough. But we do have a great recruiting class coming in, so more than ever, we're definitely going to be a different team next year. These girls are bringing a lot of new skills and personality in, and I think that will be an advantage.

But for the returning players, we kind of all understand we need to step it up and are willing to work hard to do so. I think next year, we're going to have more players be more versatile in the field. Usually, I'm a midfielder, so I stay up top, but maybe I'll be down low some of the time. A lot of other girls will be switching up positions or trying new things. We'll see how it goes. I think we'll definitely be a different team next year, but I think it will only lead to better things.

2008 was such a great season for Penn. What are the realistic expectations for next year?

Like any other player, my expectations are to get to the finals again. Like I said, we're going to be a different team, but with these girls coming in, and with our returning players, I think we will have more threats and a different sense of the game. My goal is to win the national championship. It's something I've always wanted and it's something I'm going to want until my senior year. As long as we keep working hard and take advantage of our strengths, our future is limitless. We're definitely setting our goals high.

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Countdown to '09 Archive

Aug. 1, 2008 - Chapman's Mike Wood
July 25, 2008 - Southern New Hampshire's Mary Squire
July 18, 2008 - Michigan's Trevor Yealy
July 11, 2008 - Johns Hopkins' Dave Pietramala
July 4, 2008 - Hamilton's Kallie Briscoe
June 27, 2008 - North Carolina's Joe Breschi
June 20, 2008 - Colby's Jon Thompson