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Men's Lacrosse vs. Yale Credit: Imran Cronk , Imran Cronk

While most upperclassmen are on the hunt for jobs this time of year, one senior has a pretty solid option waiting for him a few months down the road.

Penn senior midfield Zack Losco doesn’t have to worry about what lies ahead. The Penn men’s lacrosse star was drafted into Major League Lacrosse in January.

Following Losco’s junior season, one in which he was named first-team All-Ivy League, the New York native was selected by the Charlotte Hounds in the 14th round of the MLL draft. The midfield representative of the Red and Blue was chosen as the 47th pick out of 64 undergraduates in the draft.

“It feels pretty good. It was a nice surprise,” Losco said. “Not a lot of communication between the team, but it was definitely cool.”

Although it is a great opportunity, Losco is not sure that Charlotte will be his destination next year.

“I guess when the plans pan out for jobs and I see where I land a job, we’ll see how that works out, but I would definitely like to do it,” Losco said.

Penn coach Mike Murphy, while proud of all that Losco has accomplished, understands the uniqueness of his situation and the difficult decision he will have to make in the coming year.

“It’s an achievement for him,” he said. “It’s an honor for him and hopefully he’ll play professionally for a pretty long time.

“But people don’t go to Penn to get into the MLL, they come to Penn to get a good job that will serve them well for the rest of their lives, and hopefully he can combine the MLL with a longer term career. So it’s not something we talk about a lot but we are happy for him.”

Ultimately, Losco acknowledges that he would like to go into sports-related marketing.

“Sports have been such a big part of my life that I’d like to continue being involved,” Losco said. “If not playing, [then] something in marketing.”

Entering his final season with the Quakers and with a great opportunity in line for next year, Losco’s focus is centered on his team’s opponents throughout the 2014 campaign.

“[This season being my last] is kind of wild to think about,” Losco said. “[I] try not to think about it because it’s pretty crazy to be coming into the last one.

“It’s crazy but we’re excited about the upcoming season, we’ve got a good group of guys for my last go around.”

Over the course of three seasons, Losco has shown that he is a competitor in every sense of the word. Ever since his freshman year, he has been a durable asset to the Red and Blue, playing in every game in his three years at Penn.

“First and foremost, he is very much a team player,” Murphy said. “[He] will do whatever we ask him to do but I also think it’s helped him to develop.

“He’s always on the field so he understands what it’s like to play in a one goal game against Princeton or one goal game against Villanova or whatever the case might be.”

Coming into his final season playing at Franklin Field, Losco is hoping for nothing less than an Ivy title and a run in the NCAA tournament.

And through it all, he will know in the back of his mind that an incredible opportunity - one that most Penn students don’t get to experience - is waiting for him.

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