M. Lax licks Bulldogs' wound to Ivy hopes

For the men's lacrosse team, spring break started out bad and ended up worse.

After being pummelled by No. 18 Denver, 12-6, on March 6, the Quakers fell in their first Ivy contest Saturday, dropping an overtime game to Yale, 14-13.

The loss to the Bulldogs (3-2, 1-0 Ivy) is the more demoralizing, as they did not win a game in the Ivy League last year. The loss already puts Penn's postseason hopes in serious jeopardy.

In both games, the Quakers (1-3, 0-1) came out firing. They held a 4-2 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half against Denver (4-2) and an 8-4 lead midway through the second period against Yale.

But the lead over the Pioneers quickly evaporated. After netting two goals in the final minutes of the second quarter to tie the game at halftime, Denver dominated the third quarter.

The Pioneers tallied six third-quarter goals while shutting out the Quakers. They outshot Penn, 13-3, and won five of seven faceoffs in that period, holding the ball for the vast majority of the time.

"They scrapped us, got more ground balls, won more faceoffs and just made more plays," coach Brian Voelker said. "No matter what you do, you can't give up six goals in a quarter and not have the ball and let a team like this get on a roll on you. It was a good first half for us, we came out working hard, but they just outworked us and played better than us in the third quarter."

Against the Bulldogs, Penn held a 10-6 lead at halftime, and even though Yale closed the gap in the third quarter, held a 12-9 advantage after senior attack Craig Andrzejewski's third tally of the game with 10 minutes remaining.

But Penn's lead would evaporate, as Yale stormed back with four straight goals, taking a 13-12 edge with under a minute to play. Senior attack Casey O'Rourke, however, sent the game into overtime, scoring with only 15 seconds remaining.

But the extra period would not last long. Yale senior Michael Karwoski cranked a shot past Penn goalie Joe Hegener on the Bulldogs' first possession, after only 11 seconds had elapsed. The score was Karwoski's fifth goal of the day, to go along with one assist.

While the loss was a definite blow to Penn's postseason aspirations, the team did show growth offensively. After tallying only six and seven goals in its previous two games against Denver and Villanova, respectively, the Penn offense finally awoke, thanks to three-goal performances from Andrzejewski, O'Rourke, and senior midfielder Garvey Heiderman and a five-point day from sophomore attack Corey Winkoff.

For the team to recover, however, it will require significant improvement on both ends. And with postseason hopes looking bleaker by the game, that improvement must come immediately.

*This article was updated at 1:10 a.m. on 3/18/09 to reflect the fact that it was Joe Hegener, not Greg Murray, who was in goal for Penn when Yale player Michael Karwoski scored.

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