Quakers at home in tourney

Graduation ceremonies at Penn are to take place on Monday at Franklin Field, home to, among other teams, the women's lacrosse team.

But since this is tournament time and the Quakers are hip deep in a dramatic, successful season, the games must go on.

That they will, when Penn hosts an NCAA Division I tournament quarterfinal match at noon tomorrow against Boston University at Rhodes Field, home field to Penn's soccer program.

Though Penn will not have the benefit of its regular venue for the first-round game, the Quakers (14-1 overall) know that if they get past America East champion BU (13-5), they will play at Franklin Field for as long as they stay alive in the tournament. That means a lot to a team that finished the regular season 7-0 on its usual home field.

The Penn-Boston College winner will face the survivor of tomorrow's Yale-Maryland matchup May 19. As the No. 4 seed, Penn would host that game if it advances, and the Division I semifinals and final will be played at Franklin Field on May 25 and 27.

Northwestern is the two-time defending champ and this year's top seed. The Wildcats open against visiting Patriot League champion Holy Cross tomorrow.

This is the first time in 23 years that the Penn women will take part in the NCAA tournament, and it has been a banner season in more ways than one for the Quakers.

Penn, which is making its third appearance overall in the tournament, enters the postseason riding an 11-game winning streak, the longest in the program's history. The previous standard was nine in a row in 1982.

In addition, the 188 goals the Quakers scored in the regular season surpassed the previous standard of 167, set in a 16-game season last year.

West Chester chases crown. Another local women's lacrosse squad is even closer to a national championship, as the West Chester women (18-1) take on Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference foe Lock Haven (16-3) in a Division II semifinal in Salem, Va., today.

PSAC champion West Chester is looking to reach the Division II championship game for the fourth straight year. A 16-8 loss to Adelphi last spring gave the Golden Rams their third straight loss in the final.

West Chester's only championship came in 2002, when the Golden Rams downed Stonehill College, 11-6, for the title.

Last Saturday, West Chester defeated Lock Haven, 14-10, for the PSAC crown. The Golden Rams own two other wins over Lock Haven this spring, 18-11 on March 24, and 23-17 on April 14.

The other Division II semifinal today will send top-seeded C.W. Post (15-0) out to meet No. 2 Stonehill (18-1).

The final is scheduled for tomorrow.

In a second-round Division III men's tournament game, Widener (13-5) visits No. 1 Salisbury (19-0) today at 1:30 p.m.