M. Lacrosse Season Preview: Fresh blood

A team on the cusp of greatness.

That was how the 2006 Quakers men's lacrosse team will be remembered after its season came to a close with a loss to Johns Hopkins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

But 2007 is a new year - and if Penn can overcome some key losses and Ivy League opposition that is among the best in the nation, this may be the Quakers' year to reach the top.

But to do so, they will have to get over the loss of most of last year's key cogs on offense.

"We're really excited about the year coming up," said head coach Brian Voelker, "But as a coaching staff we're trying to figure out who's the guy who's going to step up and fill the shoes of some of the guys that just left."

And there are some pretty big shoes to fill. The Quakers' 9.8 average goals per game was third in the league, but over half of those were scored by now-departed seniors. Each of the team's three leading scorers have moved on, and in total, Voelker will need to replace 52 percent of the team's goals and 56 percent of its points.

Even taking that 13-3 loss to the Blue Jays into consideration, last season was an encouraging one for Penn.

But because of their two league losses, the Quakers had to rely on the selection committee to give them a spot in the 16-team tournament field, by no means a sure bet.

The goal this time is to move into position to secure an automatic bid with an Ivy title - what would be their first since 1988.

"Any time you lose 10 guys that all contributed, it's going to be a major loss," said senior captain David Cornbrooks.

The midfielder is confident, however, that these holes in the lineup can be filled quickly.

"There are a lot of freshmen who are stepping up into roles fairly quickly, so we should be fine," Cornbrooks said.

One player who will be moving into a key role is sophomore Alex Weber, who started 13 of 14 games as a freshman. He too feels that the offense can overcome its losses.

"As a team, we're looking like a great offense as a whole," he said. "We're going to be a lot more distributed in our production."

The midfield and the defense are in a more stable position than the offense. Cornbrooks is coming off an All-Ivy season at midfield in which he scored 19 points.

Even if the lineup turns out to be no less strong than last year's, the road to an Ivy title will still be an uphill battle. Penn's Ancient Eight rivals always present cutthroat competition.

"Princeton and Cornell . are two teams that everybody circles a little bit," said Voelker. But he emphasized that every game in the league is vital. "We're not good enough to overlook anybody," he said.

In total, the Quakers face six teams who played in the Tournament last year, including five of the final seven opponents.

Penn will start facing Ivy opponents around halfway through the season, play six straight conference matches, then finish up the season with Maryland and Denver, two top-tier opponents.

But after losing last year's class, the climb to the top can only be harder than last year's.

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