Junior inside center Eileen O’ Rourke said not playing Northern Illinois last Saturday had some benefits.

The time off allowed a few injured and sick players to heal and be ready to go Friday in West Lafayette, Ind., against the Purdue Boilermakers.

But O’Rourke said the team was not too happy about missing a week.

“I think everyone was pretty upset about it. The whole week, we had been talking about playing Northern,” O’Rourke said. “Everyone’s families usually comes for the home games.”

O’ Rourke said the time off will let the team get back into the swing of things.

“We were supposed to have this week off anyways, so its not like we weren’t going to be ready (to play),” O’Rourke said.

Senior flanker Katie Folliard said she was disappointed about the cancellation of the game against Northern.

“We aren’t a club team, we have a schedule and we stick to it. We’re NCAA; no excuses,” Folliard said. “It’s not like ‘hey, lets go in our backyard and play.'”

Folliard said their schedule is just like the football team and just like the soccer team, and opponents don’t cancel on them.

She felt better knowing a make-up game was scheduled this Friday.

“I had my grandma coming out, I had my aunt, all of her kids, my godmother and my mom, my sisters, cousins,” Folliard said. “I had so many people come that have never seen me play.”

Team impresses fans, not themselves

Folliard said the team could be even better than what other people actually think.

That is a scary thought for opponents considering the Panthers are on a nine-game winning streak.

They have not been scored upon in five straight games dating back to last season and also have averaged 60 points a game.

“We’re not wowing people. A lot of our plays and scrums are being pushed around, we’re a better team than this,” Folliard said. “Everybody on this team has talent. If we all take our individual talents and work together as a team, we’re gonna wow the fans and we’re gonna wow the opponents.”

Seniors nearing the end

Senior co-captain Lindsay Leskanich emphasized this being her last year; now there are only two home games left, and she contemplated the final chapter or her career.

Leskanich said the game off allowed the seniors to get even more focused knowing this will be the final go on the field.

Leskanich said the group of seniors have far exceeded their own expectations including her own. She leads the team in tackles with 35 on the season. Leskanich said the seniors haven’t been thinking about the end. They’ve just tried to take one game at a time.

Sophomore wing Samantha Manto said the seniors have picked up the leadership and have not thought about the last half of the season.

“It will hit them in the last few games though,” Manto said. “You can get hurt and be done.”

Assistant coach Brittany Brown said the seniors are playing as hard as they can as if it were the last game they will ever play.

“Just like every senior, they realize that this could be the last game,” Brown said.