M. Lax goes winless in Ivy League

A long season became longer in Providence, R.I., this weekend as Penn was defeated 22-13 by No. 11 Brown to complete a winless Ivy League campaign for the Quakers. This season marked the first time since 1979 that the Quakers (4-7, 0-6 Ivy League) have failed to win an Ivy League contest. Counting from last year, Penn -- which reached the NCAA Final Four just seven years ago -- has lost 10 straight Ivy matches. Freshman attacker John Ward, one of the silver linings of the 1995 year with 28 points, called the 0-for-Ivy League season tough. "We didn't expect to win the Ivy League," he said, "but at the same time I don't think anyone expected us to go winless in the Ivy League. "However, I don't think 0-6 is as bad as it seems. There were a couple of games that could have gone either way. I think 0-6 is a bit misleading." But Ward admitted the relatively close score against the Bears (5-4, 3-1) was also misleading. Nearly half of Penn's goals were scored in the final quarter, when the game was long over and Brown's starters were on the sidelines. The Quakers, continuing a recent pattern of falling behind early, were down 5-2 after the first quarter and had another horrific second quarter, which saw them get outscored 9-1, to end with at a 14-3 deficit at half. "Saturday's match was like how we played the whole year," midfielder Joe Mauro said. "Everyone plays hard and after we get behind, everyone just gives up. It seems like no one thinks we can win." Penn's erratic offense, which actually has been the strength of the team, made life quite relaxing for Brown goalie Dan Giannuzzi. He only made two saves the entire first half before he was replaced by backup Greg Cattrano at half. Penn goalie Travis Heinrichs was denied the luxury of leisure. He was beaten 15 times in his 47 minutes of play and continued his struggles in Ivy League games. Backup goalie Paul Burg came in for the last 13 minutes and, despite five saves, gave up seven goals in that short time span. Heinrich's and Burg's biggest nemesis of the day was Brown all-American attacker David Evans, who had a career-high six goals against the Quakers. Brown attacker Chris DeBiase was also quite impressive with one goal and six assists. In all, 14 different Brown players scored a goal. To add a final insult, midfielder Alex Goodman, who transferred to Brown from Penn in the offseason, was one of those to find the back of the net. Against Cattrano and the rest of Bears' replacements, the Quakers' offensive stars -- attacker Jon Cusson (3 goals, 2 assists), attacker Andy Crofton (3 goals, 2 assists) and Ward (2 goals, 1 assist) were able to pad their impressive season scoring statistics. Most of the offensive fireworks for Penn came in the fourth quarter, when the Quakers outscored Brown 6-1. "By the end, it may have been because they were playing subs, but it seemed that we were doing the fundamentals Coach told us to do," Mauro said. "That's just what the coach always said: 'Do the fundamentals and everything will fall into place.' "