The 2003 season will be a season of firsts for the Penn men's lacrosse team. It will be a chance for the team to record back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 13 years. It will be the first time in two years the team will not have Ryan Kelly, last year's Most Outstanding Player, supporting the squad in goal. And it will all be done under the helm of first-year coach and former professional lacrosse player, Brian Voelker. "I'm really excited to become part of this program and Ivy league lacrosse in general," Voelker said. "In my view the Ivy League is the best conference every year in Division I." Most recently Voelker guided the Baltimore Bayhawks to the inaugural championship game of the Major Lacrosse League, serving as both head coach and general manager. Voelker also spent nine seasons as a player and coach at Johns Hopkins University, one of the premier teams in the nation. He earned his first and only NCAA Championship ring while serving as defensive coordinator for the Princeton Tigers in 1992 under lacrosse legend Bill Tierney. He also played defense and was captain of the Philadelphia Wings 1998 championship team in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League. "While I'm known as a mostly defense-oriented coach, our team is going to be balanced on both sides of the ball," Voelker said. The defense shouldn't be much of a problem, as the Quakers finished last year with the nation's sixth-ranked unit, and the second stingiest 'D' in the Ivies. The strong defensive commitment was a key attribute to last year's Penn squad, and allowed the Quakers to enter the national coaches' and media polls last season, finishing in the top-20. But graduation definitely took its toll. The Quakers lost seven players from the class of 2002, including three of the top four scorers. Among the top players lost were defenseman and first team All-Ivy Scott Marimow, leading scorer attackman Scott Solow and midfielder Mike Iannacone. "It's always hard when you lose such a unit of offensive scoring," Voelker said. "But we have some very solid offensive players coming in to balance our team." Second-team All-Ivy Alex Kopicki scored a career high 20 points last year and netted nine goals. The midfielder was also selected by Inside Lacrosse/ Face Off Magazine as a preseason All-America-candidate for the second time in his career. "[Alex] is the hitch to our wagon this year," Voelker said. "He's a great two-way midfielder and we're counting on him to help lead the younger players into their roles at all positions." Joining Kopicki at midfield will be senior Jake Martin and junior Will Phillips. Both veterans have demonstrated their ability to shoot well on the run, giving the Red and Blue some much needed offensive support. The attackmen are the youngest position on the Quakers lineup, consisting mostly of freshman and sophomores. Freshman Chase McGowan had a dynamic fall tournament and is expected to contribute to the Quakers' scoring. He will join junior Bob Graustein, who scored four goals last season, as well as sophomores Greg Voigt and Zandy Reich. Defense is expected to be the least of the Quakers' worries, as two starters return from last season. Senior Stephen Brown and junior Patrick Connelly recorded the most minutes out of any returning player besides Kopicki last year, and were the backbone of the nation's sixth-ranked defense. Senior Evan Weinberg rounds out the solid unit. "While we are generally known for defensive strength, there has been no strong emphasis on either side," Weinberg said. "We want to concentrate on all aspects of the game against some of the nation's top teams." While the team remains strong at defense, they will have to play without last year's starting goalie Ryan Kelly. Kelly recorded career bests in goals against average (7.84) and save percentage (.605) before leaving the team this year. Vying for the spot are four players who saw less than 30 minutes of combined action last season. "Losing Ryan hurts us a lot, he was a big success last year," Voelker said. The Quakers are currently No. 23 in the preseason coaches poll and No. 18 in the national media poll. While national powerhouses Princeton and Cornell surpass Penn in almost every category, they are also expected to receive tough competition from Ivy rivals Yale, Harvard and Brown this year. Last year, the Elis broke the Tigers' 37-game Ivy winning streak. "We're a very different team from last year, but if we stay healthy and play at a Division I level we can challenge most of these teams," Voelker said.
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