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Penn senior midfielder Jake Martin and the Quakers kick off the season this weekend at Notre Dame. Head coach Brian Voelker leads Penn into the season as its third lacrosse head coach in as many seasons. [Lauren Karp/DP File Photo]

A year ago at Franklin Field, Sonny Sarker's game-winning goal with 4:30 left in regulation got the career of first-year coach Matt Hogan off to a strong start, giving the then-unranked Penn men's lacrosse team a 7-6 upset win over No. 11 Notre Dame. Now, one year and one coach removed from the upset victory, the Quakers will attempt to repeat last year's performance on the road. The No. 23 Quakers will open their 2003 campaign tomorrow against the No. 17 Fightin' Irish (1-0) at the Loftus Center in South Bend, Ind. "We're all focusing on the Notre Dame game since it is the first one of the season," Penn senior co-captain Evan Weinberg said. "It would give the team a lot of momentum to start the year off with a win." The Notre Dame game will also mark the coaching debut of Brian Voelker, Penn's third head coach in the last three years. While Voelker has coached at some of the premier teams in the nation, including Johns Hopkins and Princeton, he maintains that this year the Ivy League is stronger than it has ever been. "We must take each game at a time, starting with Notre Dame," Voelker said. "Being part of such a strong conference means that each non-conference game counts more." Last year's upset victory over the Irish has been considered a turning point in Penn lacrosse, as the Quakers went on to record their first nine-win season since 1989. The Irish, on the other hand, went on to take second in the Great Western Lacrosse League losing the bid to the NCAA Tournament. Which means that this year, the Irish will be seeking revenge. Notre Dame "will definitely have last year on their minds, especially now that they're in front of their home crowd," Weinberg said. "Their loss to us last year didn't help their chances to get an at large bid into the tournament." While tomorrow's game will have no bearing on either team's conference record, the Quakers recognize that another win over the Irish would be a huge boost to their program. "When you have already beaten a team last year, its very important to do so again," sophomore goalie Loren Flaum said. "You want to prove that it didn't happen by chance." But no one said it's going to be easy. The Quakers will have to contend with Notre Dame's junior attackmen Matt Howell and Dan Berger. Howell, who was named Great Western Lacrosse League Player of the Week for last week, recorded a career high five assists in Notre Dame's 10-9 opening win over No.16 Penn State. Despite Howell's presence, Penn will be focusing mainly on Berger, who scored a career-high four goals against the Quakers last year. The Quakers will also have to play without last year's star goalie Ryan Kelly, who recorded 15 saves against the Irish last year. Kelly recently left the team because of personal reasons. Seniors Jim Tyrell and Mark Gannon as well as sophomores Loren Flaum and Denis Cole could all receive playing time in the net. The one advantage the Quakers will definitely have is experience. The Irish return only five seniors this year, with most of their positions occupied by freshmen and sophomores. "They're a pretty young team this year," Flaum said. "If it comes down to crunch time like it did last year, our veterans can use this to our advantage."

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