The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

Luke Dixson (right) assisted on the first of Will Phillips' two goals in Penn's 9-4 win over Lafayette. [Julia Zhou/The Daily Pennsylvanian]

Surrounded by mounds of snow on Franklin field, the Penn men's lacrosse team gave the home crowd what it wanted last night -- a win. The Quakers (1-1) defeated Lafayette in their home opener, 9-4, giving Penn head coach Brian Voelker his first Penn win in his Franklin Field debut. "We talked about it after our last game that we really needed to come out strong tonight and get our first win," Voelker said. "And our guys responded to that and got the job done." Making up for its lack of offensive support against Notre Dame last Saturday -- the Quakers scored only one goal in the entire second half -- Penn's offense exploded in the first half last night. The Quakers scored seven goals in the first 30 minutes of action. Penn also balanced their attack by playing suffocating defense, allowing the Leopards only three shots on goal in the entire first half. "In the first half we really emphasized getting the ball on the net," senior co-captain Alex Kopicki said. "We wanted to hit the cage and make their goalie make the saves, along with getting a few key defensive stops." Kopicki -- an All-America-candidate -- recorded his first goal of the year last night en- route to a team leading three-goal performance. The senior midfielder opened the game's scoring off an assist from sophomore attackman Zandy Reich just 40-seconds into the first quarter. After Lafayette senior Pat Lennon's first of two goals tied the game at 1-1, the Red and Blue would take the lead for good when junior midfielder Will Phillips netted his third goal of the young season off a Luke Dixson pass 4:29 into the first quarter. The Quakers went on to score seven unanswered goals, extending their lead to 8-1 by the third quarter. "We stuck to our game plan today and were able to put a few away early, which gave us a little momentum for the rest of the game," Kopicki said. Also contributing for the Red and Blue were Phillips -- who scored his second goal of the game just before the end of the first quarter -- and freshman attackman James Riordan, who scored three consecutive goals, including two to finish off the half and give the Quakers a commanding 7-1 halftime lead.

Riordan's third goal at the start of the third quarter illustrated how quick the Quakers' offense was last night. Riordan received a bullet pass from senior midfielder Jake Martin and dropped it into the net with no Lafayette defender within five yards of him. "James really played well tonight and is giving our offense much support," Voelker said. "He leads the team with five goals; as a freshman that's really good." Although the Leopards went on to score three of the next four goals in the second half, the Quakers never relinquished their command of the game, winning 13 of 16 faceoffs and holding Lafayette scoreless till the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. "While our offense wasn't as good in the second half, we continued to clear the ball really well," Voelker said. Penn senior Mark Gannon started his second game in goal for the Red and Blue, giving up one goal and recording three saves. With Penn's dominance on offense and ability to control the ball, not many Lafayette scoring chances needed to be turned aside. Sophomores Loren Flaum and Denis Cole also received playing time in net in the second half. "Mark's been our starter and will continue to be," Voelker said. "but I felt it was a good opportunity tonight to see some other guys play and give them some experience."

Comments powered by Disqus

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.