Voelker returns to his roots as M. Lax faces No. 1 Hopkins

Penn men's lacrosse coach Brian Voelker has an interesting perspective on the team's season opener at Johns Hopkins tomorrow.

A former three-time All-American and team captain at Hopkins, Voelker spent four years as an integral part of the Blue Jay's defense, and five years as the team's defensive coordinator after graduation.

Since he left the university in 2001, Voelker has kept close contact with his former roommates and current Hopkins assistant coaches Seth Tierney and Bill Dwan, including stints on the alter at both of their weddings.

In his second trip back as a head coach, Voelker will look to sever his ties with the Blue Jays, as his Quakers take on the team slated No. 1 in Lacrosse Magazine's preseason rankings.

Despite the hype surrounding the game, Voelker asserts that the Quakers will not be intimidated.

"Any time you go into a game feeling like you're not going to win, you're not going to," he said."We obviously can't put all our eggs in this basket, but we have nothing to lose. Win or lose, it doesn't make or destroy our season."

With only a few weeks of practice under their belt, the Quakers are far from midseason form. Due to Ivy League rules, they have only been able to participate in two scrimmages to this point and have yet to even establish a cohesive starting unit. While Voelker is anxious to see how some of the team's younger players will respond to the challenge, he emphasizes the play of senior goalie Ryan Kelly as the team's most important asset thus far.

"We rely on Ryan a lot. To me, he's a guy who's an All-American, All-Ivy-type player," Voelker said. "We're going to need him to be very good for us."

Hopkins coach David Pietramala agrees, and believes that Kelly's consistency is vital for the Quakers to excel this year.

"With Ryan Kelly, they have one of the better goalies out there," he said. "He brings a wealth of experience to a relatively new defense."

Defense might be one of many problems the Quakers face as they open their season against the heavily favored Hopkins squad. While Voelker and his staff are confident in Kelly's ability to control the defensive side of the ball, they are relying on senior captain Will Phillips to spark a young, relatively inexperienced offensive attack.

"Offensively, everything starts with Will Phillips," Voelker explained. "Not only is he our most talented offensive player, he's our leader -- the guy who gets guys in the right spots and makes everything work smoothly."

With a group of senior captains in Phillips, Pat Connelly and David DeLaney poised to help Voelker and his staff inject some energy into a program that has not made a playoff appearance since 1989, Voelker is confident that games against teams of Hopkins' caliber are a step in the right direction.

"We have goals for our program and we're a little bit away, but we're moving in the right direction," he said. "Playing one of the toughest schedules in the country, we've got our hands full -- and I recognize that -- but we'd like to get to that level, and this is the first step."

Understanding Voelker's excitement entering the matchup, Pietramala's Blue Jays refuse to look past Penn.

"This is a very important game for us," Pietramala said. "We've been very good here at Hopkins, but we still feel that we have to come out and prove ourselves every year."

The Blue Jays will look to prove themselves tomorrow against a Quakers team eager to make some noise among the lacrosse elite.

"We're not going to be a team that sets scoring records or has unbelievable individual achievements," Voelker said. "We'll need a lot of contribution from a lot of guys to be successful. We don't need guys trying to be superman out there."

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