The undefeated Eastern women’s rugby team (4-0) will be facing off against the Penn State Nittany Lions (4-5-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lakeside Rugby Field.

Eastern is currently on a 15-game winning streak, while the Nittany Lions are coming off a tough loss to Navy.

Eastern coach Frank Graziano has a lot of respect for Penn State and said this could be the Panthers’ toughest competition this season.

“If we could hold Penn State to 10 points or less we will win,” Graziano said. “I expect us to score into the 20s or high teens. This will be our hardest game so far this season. Penn State is a great team so it will be a great game.”

Penn State has had a rough start so far this season, starting its season in the Beantown Tournament. The Nittany Lions only won three out of the seven games, giving them a tie for third in the tournament.

But of all the losses Penn State has suffered, coach Peter Steinberg said last week against Navy was the toughest.

“The Navy game was the only game that we played our top side,” Steinberg said. “The fall season for us is preseason, where we concentrate on developing our squad depth. The spring season is more competitive because that is when we have the regional national playoffs.”

Eastern has been watching film all week on Penn State. Graziano studied their weaknesses and had the team practice on the game plan instead of doing drills this week.

“Penn State’s vulnerabilities are our strengths,” Graziano said.

Steinberg still sees many things his team needs to work on to be successful against Eastern.

“Our weakness is the tackle, which we’ve worked on for the past two weeks in hopes to improve,” Steinberg said. “The biggest challenge will be the scrums and lineouts against Eastern. Whoever wins possession of the match will have a great chance in taking this game.”

Penn State’s standout players consist of Kim Magrini, Devon Boyle, Amber Benlian and Diana Klein who have all had national playing experience.

Magrini, a scrum half, played for the United States Under 23 team this summer and was invited to the National Team Camp. Boyle, a flanker, played for MARFU Under 23 as well as for the National All Star Tournament. Benlian played for the national Under 19 team in 2002 while Klein played for the Under 19 team in 2003.

Eastern has been doing great this year. Its first game against Illinois was 23-15 and a great confidence booster for the team. After that, they had two blowout wins against Iowa State and Dayton. Their last game against Ohio State ended in a 22-7 victory.

“We didn’t play up to our capability (against Ohio State),” Graziano said. “Our team could have been looking forward to our game against Penn State but a win is a win.”

This game will be Eastern’s third home game in a row, and the field has a new PA system for announcements.

“Come on out there and support us,” Graziano said.