Wait 'til next year, again

Penn just can't beat Princeton.

The Quakers fell for the 18th straight time to their lacrosse rivals from New Jersey last night, 10-5.

Knowing the history of the matchup and the impact the game would have on their already-fading playoff hopes, Penn grabbed the momentum early while No. 6 Princeton looked lackadaisical.

"We wanted to start off strong, especially after Dartmouth," senior David Cornbrooks said. In that game, Penn did not score a goal in the first period and needed five in the fourth quarter to complete an improbable comeback.

Penn won the game's first two faceoffs and controlled the ball for most of the first period, but only netted two goals against Princeton junior Alex Hewitt, the reigning national goalkeeper of the year.

"They're a very good defensive team, their goalie is very good," coach Brian Voelker said. "It's tough to score on those guys, and they've been known for that."

It would take Princeton more than 21 minutes to score their first goal. But once the Tigers got on the board, Penn could not seem to stop the visibly quicker Tigers from running amok in front of the goal.

All four of Princeton's tallies in the second period were created by their foot speed. On the second goal, Tommy Davis outran Penn's Mark Haase around the left side of the cage and put the ball past rookie goalkeeper Chris Casey.

On the Tigers' next goal, Alex Haynie received the ball behind the cage, faked around the left side of the net, turned back and put a pass in front to Whitney Hayes who threw the ball between Casey's legs to give Princeton the lead for good.

The Tigers continued to control the game in the second half, only allowing Penn to score only once the game was almost out of reach. Penn's first goal, at the end of the third, broke an astounding scoreless streak of more than 37 minutes.

With the loss, Penn was mathematically eliminated from the Ivy League title race. And even if the Quakers win their final three games - two of which come against No. 7 Maryland and a tough Denver squad - it would be a miracle if they were to grab one of the nine at-large berths to the NCAA Tournament with five losses on their record.

But the loss resonated with the team on another level.

Princeton seems to annually torture the Quakers, dashing Ivy title hopes and chances at NCAA tournament bids, and it's not something the players can quickly put out of their mind.

"When you're playing Princeton there's no way not to think about something like that," senior Matt Kelleher said. "It's not really about the streak as much as where they are that year . It kind of gets driven into your head in the lacrosse world. Princeton is put on this pedestal, especially in the Ivy League."

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