M. Lax anxious to face Big Green

Sometimes the best medicine for a team coming off a bad performance is another game -- the squad can forget about its last time out and concentrate its efforts on the next game. If ever a team needed to forget about its last game, it is the Penn men's lacrosse team. The Quakers were thrashed 19-2 Wednesday by defending national champion and Ivy rival Princeton. After finding themselves in a 2-2 tie with one period complete, the Tigers ripped off 17 unanswered goals in the final three. "We came out pretty strong," defenseman Scott Ignall said. "Once you let them get rolling it's hard to stop them. Once things start getting confusing, intimidation starts to become a factor." It could have been worse for Penn -- coach Terry Corcoran admitted Princeton probably took it easy on the Quakers. He was at a loss to explain his team's performance. "We seemed to stand around and watch Princeton play," Corcoran said. "That was too bad. You don't get a chance to play the defending national champion too often. "We just didn't execute. The little simple things. It just didn't look like we came to compete. Our level of anticipation and recognition was very low." With the fierce Tigers behind them, Penn (4-5, 0-4 Ivy League) must focus on Dartmouth. The Big Green, ranked No. 19 in the latest USILA poll, will be playing its first league game when it invades Franklin Field at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon. Dartmouth (4-0, 0-0) features a balanced offense highlighted by attacker Todd Smith, who led the team in goals (seven) and points (11) after three games. Sophomores Brian Merritt and Scott Hapgood were right behind with six goals apiece. "They have a big attack," Ignall said. "They'll come after us real hard." According to Corcoran, the Quakers' ability to knock off the Big Green will depend on which Penn team shows up. If the Penn team that played well last Saturday against Cornell before losing 18-17 makes an appearance, a win against Dartmouth is possible. "We have to keep pushing," Corcoran said. "Dartmouth is a team that is certainly very beatable." But, he warned, if the Quakers play like they did against Princeton, the Big Green have the ability to beat them just as badly as the Tigers did. "If we don't show up to play," Corcoran said, "then we're in for a long day." Oddly enough, the game against the Tigers may help Penn tomorrow. The humiliating loss could spur the Quakers into giving one of their best performances. At least, that's what Corcoran hopes. "We were intimidated by Princeton," Corcoran said. "No question about that. Everybody knows that and that's embarrassing. "I think we'll come out much differently than we did Wednesday. I don't think the kids want to be embarrassed again, and I think they know that will happen if they don't come to play."