Big Red drop M. Lax in Ivy showdown

The two halves of the Penn and Cornell Ivy League men's lacrosse slugfest resembled two completely different contests during Saturday afternoon's game at Franklin Field.

While the two teams battled to a 3-3 tie through the first half of play, Cornell's rushed with a full head of steam into the second 30 minutes, and dominated almost every facet of play. The Big Red (6-1, 2-0 Ivy) pulled away from the Quakers to post a convincing 7-4 victory, notching their second consecutive Ivy win.

"It was like a nothing-nothing game coming out of the half," Cornell freshman attacker Sean Greenlagh said. "We came out just flying."

Greenlagh netted four goals in the Big Red's win, with the first two coming in the first quarter, and the other two in the third and fourth quarters.

The four-goal effort gives Greenlagh 17 for the season making him the highest goal scorer in the Ivy league.

"We don't ask him to be our leading scorer, I just think that when he gets his opportunities from the side, he's just very good," Cornell coach Jeff Tambroni said.

The game comprised a series of momentum swings. Despite Penn (5-2, 1-2) controlling possession for a majority of the first quarter, Cornell came out with an offensive blitz in the first quarter, scoring three goals.

But in the second quarter, Penn responded, beginning with Alex Kopicki juking a series of Cornell defenders before rifling a left-hand shot to narrow the Big Red's lead to one, 3-2.

Just minutes later, Will Phillips' steal propelled a transition break for Kopicki, but the junior midfielder's 10-yard shot ricocheted off the top pipe of the goal, leaving the score at 3-2 with 7:30 remaining in the half.

"Any time you hit the pipe, people say it looks good but doesn't count," Kopicki said.

With 5:59 remaining in the second quarter, Scott Solow delivered a pass from behind the net to Sonny Sarker, who tied the game entering halftime.

But the third quarter would belong exclusively to the Big Red's finely-tuned offensive machine.

"It wasn't a matter of effort, I think it was a matter of execution," Kopicki said of the Quakers' second half play. "It's kind of hard to grasp, and it felt like it kind of slipped through our fingertips. We had a lot of momentum going into halftime."

Cornell began the second-half scoring spree with an odd-man rush that led to a Greenlagh bounce-shot under Penn goalie Ryan Kelly's stick. The transition goal was one of two during the half.

"I think the difference was that they got transition on us in the second half and they didn't get any in the first half," Penn coach Matt Hogan said. "Out of their seven goals, two of them are off transition, one of them we were chasing him, and one was off a failed clear. They only had three six-on-six goals."

Penn attacker Bob Graustein narrowed the lead to 7-4 with 2:41 remaining in the game, but it would be too late for the Quakers, as the Big Red stalled for the rest of the contest.

While Penn failed to execute in the final half against Cornell, it will have to quickly turn it around for today's game against perennial national power Princeton.

"You can't dwell on what could've happened, you just have to move on," Kopicki said.

Playing the Tigers is never easy, but this is one of the most vulnerable Princeton squads in recent memory.

On Saturday, Yale snapped the Tigers' 37-game Ivy winning streak, which dated back to 1995, in a 15-13 Elis' victory. Had Princeton beaten Yale, they would have tied Cornell's Ivy League record for consecutive league games won, which was set between 1972-1979.

Princeton is currently 2-4, with its other losses coming against No. 1 Syracuse, No. 2 Virginia and No. 3 Johns Hopkins.

After preparing for Cornell all of last week, Penn looks to capitalize on practicing for a quick midfield for today's game.

"We don't really have to adjust at all," Penn goalie Ryan Kelly said. "We just have to do what we do, and do it better."

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