M. Lax begins Ivy League season with loss at Yale

Facing its first Ivy League competition of the year Saturday afternoon at Yale, the Penn men's lacrosse team found itself in a familiar position midway through the third period.

After fighting back from a three-goal deficit to even the score at 7-7, Penn looked to avoid the second half collapse that had led to its previous two losses against Johns Hopkins and Army.

In both losses, the Quakers fought back despite trailing early, tying the score in the third period of each game.

History repeated itself, however, as Penn faltered down the stretch, unable to hold off a physical Yale squad led by attackman Seth Goldberg. The junior scored a game-high six goals en route to a 15-11 Elis victory.

With the win, Yale (4-0, 1-0 Ivy) remained undefeated, while the Quakers (2-3, 0-1) picked up their first loss in Ivy play.

After starting the season with a 2-1 stretch that featured victories over Villanova and Lehigh and a solid effort against No. 1 Johns Hopkins, the Quakers have cooled off as of late, losing two straight games in similar fashion. Penn coach Brian Voelker feels the losses signal a pattern of play by a relatively inexperienced team.

"We need to learn how to finish games," he said. "We have some young guys who aren't used to playing in situations like that, and we've made some critical errors when the game's on the line. "

Sophomore Chase McGowan feels the Quakers' performance was relatively sub-par.

"We didn't cash in on a lot of opportunities," he explained. "Our defense was a little off their game -- we had problems with our interior defense, which is uncharacteristic of us."

With a host of hard-shooting attackmen capable of scoring from anywhere in the offensive zone, Yale forced Penn to extend its defense in an attempt to contain the Elis' long-range assault. Consequently, senior goalie Ryan Kelly was often left vulnerable around the net.

"It's like basketball when you have a team that can really drain the three," Voelker said. "It forces a defense to stretched out and you start giving up layups."

In an aggressive game that, at one point, featured three penalties called on a single play, Penn was active on the offensive, capitalizing on 5-of-7 extra-man opportunities and outshooting the Elis, 44-38.

With six goals between them, senior captain Will Phillips and sophomores James Riordan and P. J. Gilbert anchored a balanced offensive attack. Phillips extended his scoring streak to 23 games with a pair of goals, while Riordan and Gilbert added two each as well.

Facing a freshman goalie in Yale's Jordan Ellis, the Quakers were somewhat unsure what to expect from the Yale defense. With a season-high 11 saves, Ellis made his presence felt between the pipes.

"The biggest surprise was their goalie," Voelker said. "If you had told me coming in that he'd have close to 20 saves, I would have said we'd be in trouble."

Though he is disappointed with the loss, Voelker knows that his team's losses have all come against quality opponents.

"The three teams we've lost to are pretty good," he said. "Yale is undefeated and Hopkins is No. 1 in the country. Army just got a big win over Syracuse, and will probably be in the top 10."

After garnering a No. 19 ranking following a 2-1 start, Penn has fallen out of the top 25, and now posts a losing record as it approaches the meat of the Ivy season.

"The mystique of the Hopkins game is gone now," McGowan said. "We're not riding on that anymore. The only thing that matters now is that we streak together a couple wins and try to win out in the Ivy."

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