M. Lax seeks first Ivy win

The Penn men's lacrosse team's schedule bristles with top-notch competition, and so far, the Quakers have crumbled under the pressure of being an underdog. No. 5 Princeton and Harvard both blew out Penn. Dartmouth and Cornell sneaked out victories. Tomorrow is Penn's chance to take out its built-up anger on No. 11 Brown. "Brown and Syracuse [Penn's opponent next weekend] are as good as Princeton was," Penn coach Terry Corcoran said. "We've got an easy way to calculate if we're improving, and that's what we've got to focus on. Those are two games we can go into and just fold up, or those are two weeks of work where we can take our frustrations out on somebody better than us in the polls." This will be Penn's last chance for an Ivy win. To get it, the Quakers need to defeat the defending Ivy champion Bears. "It's how you finish off the year that matters," defender Kelleigh Faldi said. "Everyone is pulling together and making each other play harder. That's really what a team effort is all about." Brown boasts two solid goaltenders, both of whom are ranked second in saves. Dan Giannuzzi boasts a 6.55 goals-against average. Gregory Cattrano has an amazing 4.67 GAA in Ivy play, good for second in the league. The two keepers have been splitting time in the cage, but Brown coach Peter Lasagna said Giannuzzi will be starting tomorrow. On the other end of the field, the Penn defense will be hard-pressed to stop the Bears. Led by David Evans' 21 goals, Brown boasts a strong and balanced attack. "We've got to keep our heads up," midfielder Brian Napolitano said. "That's just the nature of our schedule. You can't ask for a better opportunity to come out and try to prove yourself again against another great team. This is a huge game." The Quakers have been producing relatively well on the offensive side of the field, but they have not been able to contain their opponents. In its last five games, Penn has given up 81 goals, including two to defensemen. Penn has held its opponents to single digits only four times, with three of those coming during the first four games of the season. Along with intensified defense, Penn may be taking a vendetta into this game. The Quakers will be facing midfielder Alex Goodman, who transferred from Penn to Brown this year. While the Quakers expressed no particular interest in Goodman going into tomorrow's game, Lasagna had concern for his player. "Hopefully they won't hurt him," Lasagna said. "He'll be wearing a different colored jersey and playing against his old teammates. They might make him think about your decision again by making his game a little bit hellish."

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