Aug. 25, 2007

EASTON, Pa. - As head coach Frank Tavani and the team wrap up preseason, attention turns toward their first game on Sept. 1 against Marist.

"Three weeks is a really long time," Tavani said. "We've only taken one day off up to this point and have been conditioning extremely hard. We'll get a few days of recovery and a week from today we'll be lining up to play."

The Leopards practiced for a second day in a row without the freshmen, who are taking time out to attend orientation.

"It's just the upperclassmen zeroing in and doing Marist prep," Tavani said. "We're serving each other offense and defense since we don't have the freshmen here to have our normal scout teams that we'll have next week."

While Tavani and the entire team are excited for their home opener and the school's first night game ever, many of them are also looking ahead to their first league game against Georgetown on Sept. 8.

"We have to stay on track and that doesn't mean we don't pay attention to non-league games, but we don't have any time to waste because the second week of the season we're going down to Georgetown," Tavani said. "If you get caught in a game like your league-opener not being mentally ready and get in a situation where a team like Georgetown gets momentum, you could be in trouble."

The entire team will practice tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. at Fisher Stadium in full pads. The team will reconvene again in the afternoon at 4:15 p.m. for a second practice. All practices are open to the public.