M. Lax repays a favor

Last year, after holding a three-goal lead late in the fourth quarter of its season opener against Drexel, the men's lacrosse team allowed the Dragons four unanswered goals in a fatal collapse.

On Saturday, the Quakers held another three-goal lead, 9-6 - but this time made sure to avoid any deja vu.

Thanks to strong play early and just enough effort at the end, Penn started its season off the right way, topping Drexel, 9-8, in a thrilling match at Vidas Field.

"It's a huge win for us," sophomore attacker Al Kohart said. "Last year they came into our place and took one from us. It's nice to come back and repay the favor and start our season off on the right foot."

The Quakers (1-0) jumped on top of the Dragons (0-2) early, with a goal by senior attack Casey O'Rourke just 35 seconds after the opening whistle. The domination continued on both ends, with three more Penn goals before Drexel managed to get on the board with just over seven minutes remaining in the half.

"Last week we had a scrimmage and came out so flat," senior goalkeeper Greg Murray said. "This week that's what we focused on all week: Don't play not to lose, you got to play to win."

The Dragons made it competitive, scoring twice late in the half to enter the break down only 4-3, but Penn came out strong in the third quarter, outscoring Drexel 3-1.

Towards the end of the fourth quarter, Drexel had closed in and was down just 9-8 with three minutes to go. With the clock ticking down, the Dragons attacked the Penn ball carrier in a last-ditch attempt to regain possession. But Kohart - who had two goals and an assist - literally ran in circles around the field and defenders, helping Penn possess the ball for over two minutes.

"I just looked in my teammates' eyes and realized this was a family and I'd do anything for my family," Kohart said. "So if I can run around for two minutes and tire myself out, it's worth it to get the 'W.'"

Though Drexel eventually regained the ball, an offsides call basically ended the game.

The Quakers' toughness on faceoffs and ground balls was critical to the win, especially in the second half. In that frame, they scooped up 15 ground balls to Drexel's nine and junior midfielder Justin Lynch won 10 of 12 faceoffs, including all seven in the fourth quarter.

Also impressive was Murray in his first performance since winning the preseason position battle. He notched 11 saves and coach Brian Voelker credited him for expertly directing the defense. Even more impressively, he did it in the face of constant heckling from Drexel fans, though he said that didn't bother him at all and in fact made him play better.

In fact, the Quakers played much better than the final numbers indicate. A number of mistakes and turnovers deep in their own territory led to some of Drexel's goals, though Voelker chalked that up to "first-game jitters."

"This is our first one," he said. "And if we can build on this, keep improving and keep getting better, taking away some of those mistakes, it should be a good year for us."

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