M. Lax pulls upset of No. 9 Cornell

Facing an 8-6 deficit with less than seven minutes remaining in a game against No. 9 Cornell, the Penn men's lacrosse team mounted one of the most amazing comebacks in the program's recent history.

After three quarters of play that saw goalie and senior Ryan Kelly and senior co-captain Patrick Connelly shine in their defensive roles, it was the offense that took center stage Saturday afternoon at Franklin Field.

Sparked by freshman Mark Becker's late fourth quarter goal, which cut the Big Red lead to 8-7, the unit produced a timely rally against a dominating Cornell squad they hadn't beaten in six years.

Penn quickly regained possession after the ensuing faceoff and continued the onslaught. With 5:10 remaining on the clock, sophomore P.J. Gilbert took junior Zandy Reich en route to the game-tying goal.

Seconds later, senior captain and offensive catalyst sophomore Will Phillips provided the season's most critical goal thus far, using freshman Luke Wilson's game-high third assist on way to the game's decisive score.

The goal highlighted a four-goal effort by the Quakers in a little over two minutes. It was Phillips' fourth point on the afternoon and extended his point streak to 26 games.

Sophomore D.J. Andrzejewski's insurance goal with 0:21 left on the clock would seal the victory at 10-8. With the win, Penn (5-3, 2-1 Ivy) remained undefeated at home (5-0), while No. 9 Cornell (4-2, 1-1) suffered its first Ivy loss.

The Quakers have won three straight games since the squad's last-minute heroics against Bucknell March 23.

In four years at Penn, Phillips had only dreamed of such a dramatic victory over an Ivy power like Cornell.

"It's awesome," he said. "I'm on cloud nine. It's definitely the biggest win since I've been at Penn -- to beat an Ivy team ranked ninth in the nation, it is an incredible feeling."

Coach Brian Voelker echoed Phillips' excitement.

"It's a gigantic step for our program," he said. "This win is the biggest we've had here. Any time you beat a team like Cornell in the top 10, that's as big of a win as you can have."

Phillips feels that the ability of Penn's relatively young offense to respond to a two-goal deficit late in the game demonstrates the maturity of a truly dynamic unit.

"The young guys were a huge boost," he said. "They've learned very quickly what it takes out there and I think that's really doing it for us. We have senior leadership on 'D' -- in net, on the faceoff and on offense. But it's the younger guys who are filling in the holes for us."

The younger Quakers made their presence felt against the Big Red. Andrzejewski managed two goals in the final quarter. Becker's late goal was one of two on the afternoon for the freshman. He tallied Penn's first goal 6:58 into the game.

Sophomores Patrick Rogers and Jimmy Riordan each found the net in the second quarter, while freshman Alex Salihi added a goal and an assist to the Penn parade. Andrzejewski, Becker, Salihi and Gilbert combined to score five of the Quakers' six fourth quarter goals.

"Though it sounds like a clich‚, when you say you don't want to count on freshmen -- it's true," Voelker said. "I think it takes the young guys a little longer to figure out where they belong. When we can really spread things out, we are very successful."

While the Quakers' second half offense has been more productive in the team's last three games, it is the consistency of a dominant defense anchored by Kelly and Connelly that has kept the team in games late.

Though he did not register a point -- or even a shot -- in the Penn victory, Connelly was named Ivy League Player of the Week after shutting down one of nation's most prolific scorers, Cornell senior Andrew Collins.

Despite leading the Ivy League in scoring, Collins managed only one point against the Quakers -- an assist at 11:43 in the first quarter.

"Pat's been doing a great job," Phillips said. "He always [defends] an opponent's best guy. You don't see a lot of defensive guys getting Ivy Player of the Week. He's been doing this all year and it's great to see him get some recognition."

The revitalized Quakers will look to earn their first road win next Saturday as they travel to Hanover, N.H., to face defending Ivy champ Dartmouth.

"We've been in this situation before," Connelly said. "One thing we're going to try to do is finish out very strong. We have a lot of young guys that are really stepping up at the right time. This [victory] is exactly what we needed."

PENN 10, Cornell 8

First quarter -- 1, 11:43, Greenhalgh (C); 2, 10:54, Rosenberger (C); 3, 6:58, Becker (P); 4, 3:10, Phillips (P);

Second quarter -- 5, 14:25, Greenhalgh (C); 6, 11:43, Riordan (P); 7, 9:28, Rogers (P); 8, 0:10, Redd (C);

Third quarter -- 9, 5:40, Boulukos (C);

Fourth quarter -- 10, 14:19, Andrzejewski (P); 11, 13:20, Salihi (P); 12, 11:56, Nee (C); 13, 11:14, Nee (C);

14, 7:43, Boulukos (C); 15, 6:13, Becker (P); 16, 5:10, Gilbert (P); 17, 4:44. Phillips (P); 18, 0:21, Andrzejewski (P).

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