M. Lax faces tough battle tonight

Sixteen straight wins is an impressive streak by any measure. Especially if they are all against one opponent.

But for the Penn men's lacrosse team, being on the losing side of 16 straight games -- to archrival Princeton -- isn't a streak to be proud of.

It's a streak to break.

"Princeton has had our number for a while," said Penn coach Brian Voelker, who has coached the Quakers in three of those 16 losses. "But we've been getting closer and closer every year to getting over the hump."

The Quakers (8-1, 3-1 Ivy) will have perhaps the best chance in years to knock off the Tigers (5-3, 1-0) when they travel to Princeton, N.J., tonight.

"We feel like we're in great condition to play, we're coming in with a lot of momentum," Voelker said.

The Quakers haven't been on equal footing with the Ivy League's perennial favorites for quite a while. Princeton has earned at least a share of the Ivy championship in 12 of the last 14 years and gone to national championship games from 2000-02, winning it in 2001.

But this year, the Quakers are off to their best start ever under Voelker, and are considered to be a serious threat to a Tigers team that has dominated the upper echelon of the Ivy League for the last 15 years.

In fact, the two major national lacrosse polls can't even agree on which team is better heading into tonight's contest.

While Insidelacrosse.com has the Quakers ranked No. 9, one spot behind the Tigers, the Quakers are ranked No. 7 by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association -- with Princeton at No. 11.

Princeton coach Bill Tierney said that the rankings are reflective of Penn's remarkable turnaround this season.

"I have tremendous respect for Penn and how they've been able to bounce back and have a terrific season," Tierney said. "Brian is doing a great job down there; for us to play them now will be a tough matchup."

Tierney has coached in all 16 consecutive victories over the Quakers. He recently earned his 200th victory at the helm of the Tigers, and has won six NCAA championships in his 18-year career at Old Nassau.

But last season, the Tigers failed to clinch a share of the Ivy title for the first time in 10 years. And for the first time in five years, the Quakers were one goal away from upsetting their rivals to the north.

Tied up at 5-5 heading into overtime, the Quakers unleashed a full assault on the Princeton defense, tallying six unanswered shots through two overtime periods. But none of them hit the back of the net.

Finally, Princeton's Jason Doneger answered with the game-winner off an assist from Peter Trombino with 1:43 left in the second overtime period to hand the Quakers a crushing defeat.

"We are going to have to play them harder than we ever have before," Tierney said of tonight's matchup with the Tigers. "They have remarkable senior leadership, and their guys are making tough shots."

The Tigers already have three losses, but their 5-3 record could be deceiving. Those three losses came at the hands of No. 1 Virginia, No. 3 Hofstra and No. 12 Syracuse.

Tonight, the Tigers will host Penn in only their second Ivy League contest this season. The Quakers only have two Ivy games remaining and could win the league title outright this weekend with victories over Princeton and Brown.

But the Tigers will bring the No. 4 scoring defense in the nation against the Quakers' eighth-best offense tonight. Princeton has only allowed more than seven goals once all season, while Penn has tallied more than seven in seven of its eight victories.

"Something is going to have to give," Tierney said. "We know they have hot shooters. We are going to have to stay with them and take control of possessions."

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