Explosive Cornell visits Philadelphia

It's fitting, really. After struggling last weekend against Harvard, Penn's defense has a perfect opportunity to redeem itself this weekend, as the Quakers face one of the top scoring offenses in the nation.

Penn plays host to Cornell, which boasts three of the top five point-scorers in the country -- David Mitchell (second), Eric Pittard (third), and Derek Haswell (fifth). Mitchell ranks first in the nation in goals per game, with 3.83, while Pittard ranks second in the country in assists per game, with 2.67.

The Quakers will certainly have their hands full on defense, and there is no single Cornell player who the team can target.

Mitchell's "scoring is a credit to all the guys around him," Penn coach Brian said. "There's a lot of talented players on that team offensively."

While Penn (6-1, 1-1 Ivy) had its hopes for an undefeated season shattered last week, No. 2 Cornell posted convincing victories over then-No. 2 Duke and Yale.

If the Quakers are to end that streak, it will have to start on defense.

"I was a little disappointed at the way we played, especially defensively, against Harvard," Voelker said. "It is a big challenge for our defense to contain Cornell's guys."

The Big Red (6-0, 1-0) ranks first in the nation in scoring margin -- outscoring its opponents by 8.5 goals per game -- and third overall in scoring offense with 12.83 goals per game. Last week against Yale, Cornell scored four goals on its first four shots of the game.

What's worse for the Quakers is that Cornell also possesses one of the country's top defenses.

The Big Red allows just 4.33 goals per game, which is the second fewest in the nation. They defeated Binghamton, Army and Lehigh by a combined 41-7.

Still, Quakers senior co-captain D.J. Andrzejewski is confident about Penn's chances this weekend.

"Our team always plays up for big games," he said. "Just getting that loss against Harvard makes us want this next win that much more."

If history is any indication, Andrzejewski's prediction may very well come true.

The Big Red is riding an 11-game Ivy winning streak, but the Quakers were the last Ivy team to beat Cornell, doing so at Franklin Field in 2004.

Last year was a different story, though, as the Big Red cruised to an easy 15-6 victory, outscoring Penn 9-1 in the second half.

For the Quakers, the memory of that defeat is added motivation for this weekend.

"The guys are out here working hard and very focused," Voelker said. "It's easy to get a team's attention when you're playing an undefeated team, No. 2 team in the country and a team that really took it to us last year."

After losing its first Ivy League game last week, Penn will have to pull the upset to avoid a 1-2 conference start.

"There was a lot of energy this week in practice," he said. "We put the game from Saturday behind us."

But the bottom line is that motivation and energy do not win games alone. Penn will have to play significantly better on both ends of the field to have a chance against Cornell.

"We've had a full week to prepare, and we're pretty healthy," Voelker said. "We've got to go out and play our best game of the season against a great team."

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