M. Lax wins behind second-half spurt

The first half of last night's game at Franklin Field was a nailbiter. After that, the Penn men's lacrosse team pummeled Lafayette. After going into the locker room holding on to a tenuous 9-7 lead, the Quakers (2-2) exploded for six second-half goals to run away with the game and send the Leopards (1-3) home with a 15-9 defeat. Penn began the first quarter on the right foot with a goal by sophomore Alex Kopicki during the first two minutes of play. Both teams then went scoreless for almost 10 minutes until Lafayette tied it up at the 4:15 mark. The Quakers and Leopards then alternated goals, with Lafayette getting the last word in, ending the quarter with a 3-2 lead. Lafayette went on to take the lead Penn early in the second quarter with a goal at the 13:43 mark, bringing the game to 4-2. The Quakers would come back, however, and after knotting the game at seven. Penn scored two quick goals in the final two minutes of the half to take a 9-7 lead going into the locker room. The Leopards were able to control the pace of the game for the better part of the second quarter, mainly by making long passes around Penn's goal. However, the Quakers were able to match the Leopards' scoring due to quick offensive retaliations. "I think by reducing the minutes of the game they certainly gave themselves a better chance, if they're playing less people and dictating the pace," Penn coach Marc Van Arsdale said. "And I didn't think in the first half we did a great job of being patient against that defensively. We got overextended and played into their hands and in the second half we did a much better job of playing good solid team defense." The second half proved disastrous for the Leopards. Penn's defense put more pressure on Lafayette, and the visitors were unable to keep up with the the Quakers' pace. Penn, whose offense had played a quicker game all along, now ran circles around Lafayette, scoring four goals in the third quarter without a response. Perhaps a sign of Lafayette's growing desperation in the third quarter was its goalie's decision to run the length of the field around the 7:00 mark. Lafayette goalie Duncan Woodward, who had kept his team in the game in the first half, ran all 100 yards of Franklin Field with the ball, only to turn it over behind the Quakers' goal. Scott Solow took advantage of the empty net for an easy score off an assist by Kevin Cadin, who had a huge night with three goals and three assists. "Its kind of my style of play," Woodward explained. "I just try to get things going for my team and if we have to clear the ball sometimes it's just easier for me to run it down. Sometimes it gets me in trouble." Lafayette was able to stop the hemorrhaging in the fourth quarter, responding to two of Penn's three goals. However, it was not enough to undo the damage wrought by the third quarter, and Penn finished the game with a comfortable 15-9 victory. "In the beginning, we were working hard, but shots weren't falling," Solow said. "But eventually balls started falling."

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