With his team trailing by three goals late in the fourth quarter Saturday, Penn men's lacrosse coach G.W. Mix must have been overcome by a feeling of deja vu. Penn had enjoyed a 5-1 lead over visiting Cornell in the first quarter at Franklin Field. But in what has become a familiar pattern this season, the Quakers allowed their opponent back into the game. "The first thing we said is we've been here before," Mix said. "We've been here too damn many times, but we've been here before. We've learned that you can't get all three of them back with one shot." The Quakers apparently learned that lesson well. Penn did not panic, calmly scoring four goals in the final seven minutes of regulation to tie the game at 9. And the Quakers even threw in a new trick. Overtime, which has been a source of frustration for Penn -- both of its losses have come in sudden death -- turned into a source of salvation. Junior attacker Andrew Greenberg nailed the game-winner early in the second overtime, and the Quakers prevailed 10-9. At one point midway through the final period, it appeared as though the game were over. The Big Red (0-4, 0-2 Ivy League) had scored seven unanswered goals to grab an 8-5 lead. For their part, the Quakers (3-2, 1-1) had gone an incredible 38 minutes without scoring. "I pretty much said to myself that this is just a repeat," Greenberg said. "It seems we play hard at the beginning and then we play a bad third quarter and a team gets back up on us. I was just hoping we could do what we always do and come back in the fourth and make it into a game." Greenberg did more than hope. Carrying the struggling Penn offense on his shoulders, he scored two fourth-quarter goals and the game-winner, including one that tied the game at 8 with four minutes remaining. But to Cornell's credit, it continued to fight. Senior attacker Ben Smith cut to the net, received the pass and slipped by Penn goalie Steve Bassford to put the Big Red back on top 9-8 with less than three minutes left. With Cornell in possession and the final minute ticking off the scoreboard at the west end of Franklin Field, the game seemed decided until senior defenseman Mike Tobin stripped the ball. Senior captain Steve Marks brought the ball down field. The clock read less than 30 seconds. The Quakers quickly found an open shot that hit the pipes. But sophomore attacker Andy Crofton was there for the rebound. His put-back goal with five seconds left in regulation tied the game. "I knew we had to get the ball immediately," Tobin said. "If they even rolled it and there was a scuffle for a ground ball or anything like that we would have been sunk. That was it." "When we had to, we were able to put it together and that makes me feel good," Crofton said. "When we need goals we can get them." The Quakers might not have needed so many fourth-quarter goals if they had played the entire game the way they played the first quarter. Mix called that quarter "the best lacrosse we've played since I've been the head coach here." Penn's early offensive success was predicated on good movement and patience. On several occasions as a Penn attacker exploded to the goal, it seemed as if the Cornell defender had been lulled to sleep first. "Our theory was we wanted to get the ball around and everyone to touch the ball twice before we went into a play or challenged the goal," senior attacker Alex Goodman said. "They played what they called a 'white defense' which was sort of lackadaisical -- they didn't pressure. So they let us get it around with ease. And then once it got back up top we figured we had a good matchup." Unfortunately for Penn, the rest of the game didn't come as easy as the first quarter. After senior midfielder Paul Duncan scored with less than a minute gone by in the second period, the Quakers didn't score again until midway through the fourth. "Lacrosse always has been and always will be a game of momentum," Mix said. "What happened in that second quarter is we had as many opportunities as we did in the first quarter. We just didn't make the shots. What were good opportunities for us turned into goals for them and that really hurt us a little bit in that second quarter." Even as the Quaker offense went south the defense was impressive, keeping Penn within striking distance. Bassford made several big saves, including one in the first overtime when it looked like Cornell was about to end the game. The Quakers, who had once enjoyed a four-goal lead, still found themselves down by as many as three in the fourth quarter. But Penn, which has encountered this same situation many times already in this young season, responded to the challenge. "I've never cried after I've won a game," Goodman said. "I've been there so many times. It's like, 'We've been here so many times. Can we just win it once?' "
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