Quakers seniors cap careers with victory

It was a picture perfect way for nine Penn seniors to end their collegiate careers.

The temperature on Sunday was a sunny 70 degrees, the stands were full of screaming fans and the Penn men's lacrosse team beat Yale, 10-7, for the first time in four years.

"It feels fantastic to go out like this" senior tri-captain Alex Kopicki said. "It feels like you've accomplished something going out on a note like that."

This group of Quakers had never beaten the Elis (8-5, 2-4 Ivy), so this win was even more momentous.

"To go out with a win," senior tri-captain Evan Weinberg said. "You can't ask for anything more."

This game capped off the Quakers' season, with a team record of 6-7 overall and 2-4 in the Ivy League.

After finishing last season over .500 for the first time since 1989, the Red and Blue had high hopes. Those were dashed when Penn suffered some close losses at the end of this season.

In their last game at Villanova, the Quakers blew a four-goal lead in the fourth quarter, falling 8-7.

"I think we are all disappointed we didn't win a couple more games," Penn coach Brian Voelker said. "But overall, I think our guys played hard."

According to Voelker, the Quakers were able to win Sunday because they kept up the momentum in the fourth quarter.

"We played well in the fourth quarter, which we hadn't done," he said. "Here we had some opportunities, and we finally caught some breaks and played a little bit smarter and just buried them."

Though the Quakers may have persevered in the end, the game was not always in their favor.

Yale was first on the scoreboard when junior Edward Britt netted an unassisted goal. Penn was quick to answer, as junior Ethan Haire scored three minutes later.

Yale scored two more unanswered goals in the first quarter, but then the Red and Blue took control.

Kopicki scored twice and sophomore Zandy Reich added another to put the Quakers on top 4-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Penn junior Will Phillips scored six minutes and 30 seconds into the second quarter, extending his scoring streak to 18 games heading into his senior season.

Penn senior John Walsh netted his second goal of the season in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was a scoring frenzy. Phillips added another goal, as did senior Bobby Unterstein, sophomore Greg Voigt and Reich had two, the last of which put the Quakers lead at 10-5 with only five minutes to play.

Yale attempted a last-minute comeback, scoring two goals in the last two minutes, but the outcome was never in doubt after Reich's third goal on the day.

"It just feels really good," Voelker said. "Hopefully, we will take the momentum into next season."

Weinberg summed it up, saying, "It always feels great to go out with a win. You couldn't ask for anything more."

His classmate Stephen Brown concurred.

"To come out and end the season with a win, against a team that we hadn't beaten before, it just couldn't be better," said Brown, a tri-captain. "It's definitely my best memory of Penn lacrosse."

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