'Revenge': the one thing on M. Lax's mind this weekend

When Penn seniors Alex Kopicki and Jake Martin take to the field tomorrow in Ithaca they will be looking for one thing -- revenge.

"We haven't beaten Cornell in the last three years," said Kopicki, the senior co-captain of the Penn men's lacrosse team. "It's kind of a little bit about revenge, kind of a little bit about how we want to go out on top."

The seniors have suffered a number of disappointments at the hands of the Big Red in their Penn careers.

"It was an overtime game our sophomore year," Kopicki said. "And last year we were tied at halftime.

However, this will not be an easy win for No. 20 Penn (4-2, 1-0 Ivy League).

No. 15 Cornell (4-2, 1-0) looks to end the Quakers' three-game winning streak. The Big Red are on their own three game run and just defeated Yale, 16-8.

"We're going to have to play very well to win the game," Penn coach Brian Voelker said. "We have our work cut out for us."

Cornell defenseman Ryan McClay collected seven ground balls against Yale last week and is leading his team with 29 for the season.

"He is probably as good as anyone in the country," Voelker said.

The Quakers will also have to watch out for Cornell's explosive offense. Junior Andrew Collins had eight assists against Yale, just one shy of a Cornell record.

"They have some guys who can really fill up the net," Voelker said. "They can put some points up."

The Quakers are confident, however, that they can overcome the Big Red due to their drive and motivation.

"I think they are a team that is similar to us," Martin said. "I think the game is going to be decided by who wants it more, who does the little things better, and who is willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the team."

Voelker is looking to Martin and Kopicki to set an example for the younger players. And the seniors do not take this role lightly.

"There are probably two ways to get a team revved up," Kopicki said. "One is by laying somebody out and the other is scoring a big goal. I'll take either one of them."

The upperclassmen are very impressed with their younger teammates' performances this season.

"They've been going through a trial by fire and have responded so far," Martin said. "Hopefully they will be able to keep it up and keep the momentum going."

Kopicki agrees, but knows that the games at the beginning of the season were only practice for the Ivy League schedule.

"I think they have matured as the year has gone on," he said. "Now we are looking for them to play not like freshmen but like big boys."

If the younger players can step up tomorrow against Cornell, the seniors might be able to defeat the team they have struggled against for four years.

"We are just looking forward to having a lot of fun our senior year," Kopicki said. "We just want to go out with a bang and I can't think of a better way to do that than to beat Cornell and just roll from there."

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