Lafayette laughs first, last in win over Murphy's Quakers

After two contests, men’s lacrosse coach Mike Murphy is still looking for his first victory with the Quakers.

Last night, Penn fell behind early and wasn’t quite able to recover, ultimately losing 14-9 to Lafayette in Easton, Pa.

“We just weren’t sharp,” Murphy said. “We did the things we talked about not doing in terms of fundamental execution and when we did those things they made us pay for it.”

The Leopards (3-0) took a 5-1 lead two minutes into the second quarter. The Quakers (0-2) fought back, closing the gap to 6-5 at halftime, but by the time the third quarter concluded, Lafayette was up 11-6 and finished the game with strong defense.

Lafayette junior attack Tom Perini accounted for three of the Leopards’ five goals in the third quarter and seven total. His classmate Stefan Bauer tallied five assists. The Quakers had a more balanced attack, with midfielders Al Kohart and Dan Savage and attack Rob McMullen each notching two goals.

The startling statistic of the night may have been Lafayette’s 54-33 shot advantage, but the Leopards’ advantage in man-up possessions and percentage proved to be a telling number as well.

The Quakers racked up nine penalties for eight minutes and paid for them, as Lafayette converted five of their nine man-up chances. The Quakers could not capitalize on any of their three man-up opportunities.

“On offense we did pretty well at times but other times we just had unforced errors, turnovers,” said Murphy. “It’s hard to put your finger on why that happens sometimes; could be a concentration issue or a confidence issue or whatever else.

“We hurt ourselves in a number of areas. Lafayette hurt us in some ways too and the combination of those two … ended up in a five-goal deficit.”

Now, Penn can turn its attention to its four-game spring-break slate.

This weekend, the Quakers will head to Denver to participate in the annual Face-off Classic. Their contests will be against Denver (1-2) on Saturday and Air Force (0-1) Sunday.

Interestingly, Denver was the catalyst of this offseason’s coaching carousel — one which ultimately led to Murphy’s hiring at Penn.

Pioneers coach Jamie Munro resigned this summer, and Denver unexpectedly hired legendary Princeton coach Bill Tierney as his replacement. In turn, the Tigers hired away Drexel coach Chris Bates and the Dragons tabbed former Penn coach Brian Voelker as his replacement. Voelker’s departure opened the door for Murphy’s hiring.

After opening the season ranked No. 18, the Pioneers lost 15-9 to No.1 Syracuse and then to unranked Jacksonville in triple overtime.

Penn can’t get too comfortable in the Rocky Mountain air, however, as they return to action with a pair of home contests against local rivals. Wednesday, the Quakers will take on Saint Joseph’s (0-4) and on Mar. 13 they will welcome Villanova to Franklin Field.

The Hawks have struggled early in the season, losing all four of their games including a 19-5 thumping at the hands of Drexel Tuesday.

The Wildcats could be more of a challenge, especially considering their 14-7 victory over the Quakers last year. They had failed to top Penn in their three prior contests.

So with two Mile High contests and two in the friendly confines of Franklin Field, Murphy will have ample opportunities to pick up his first win at the helm of the Penn program.

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