Penn comeback falls short against Brown

Bear nearly blow aBear nearly blow asix-goal lead, butBear nearly blow asix-goal lead, buthold off Quakers It was a game that seemed destined for a storybook ending. After twice falling behind by large margins, the Penn men's lacrosse team had cut a 12-6 fourth quarter lead to just 12-11 with four minutes to play. Brown, the No. 9 team in the nation, was in disarray. But then, as had happened in the Quakers' two previous home Ivy League encounters, Penn (3-8, 0-5 Ivy League) failed to follow through and get a crucial win. This time, the team's hopes were crushed in the most frustrating of ways. With under a minute to play, Penn goalie Matt Schroeder came far upfield to chase a loose ball, but a Brown attackman came up with the ball first and made a perfect pass to Josh Selig, who scored the empty-netter to give the contest its final scoreline, 13-11. Saturday's game was just the latest chapter in the Quakers' book of lost opportunity. Earlier this year, Penn had watched fourth quarter leads evaporate against Harvard and Cornell. This time the script was slightly different. The Bears (5-4, 2-1) led from wire to wire, but Penn's late-game 5-0 run shifted all the momentum to the home team. Despite the loss, which extended Penn's three-year-old consecutive league losing streak to 15, the game did showcase all of the team's strengths, primarily in the second and fourth quarters. "It's frustrating, but at the same time we played awfully well and did a lot of good things," Penn coach Terry Corcoran said. "A lot of good teams have lost a few games and then packed it in." Brown gave the Quakers plenty of chances to fold their tents. Storming out of the gate with seven unanswered first quarter goals, Brown seemed to be taking out its recent frustrations on helpless Penn defensemen. The Bears' senior-laden attack unit carved through Penn's defense, keyed by Selig, who scored two of his four goals in the games' opening seven minutes. "We were ready to play," Brown coach Peter Lasagna said. "Sometimes a giant lead can be a bad thing. You stop playing hard." Ahead 8-2 in the second quarter, the Bears may have become complacent. At the same time, the shots which Penn had sent wide of goal and the passes that fell short suddenly clicked. In the last four minutes of the half, the Red and Blue scored four times, including two long-range bullets from senior midfielder Vern Briggs, who had a team-high four goals and added a pair of assists. But much of the credit for Penn's successful run goes to the squad's new-look defense. Although the team has primarily counted on man-to-man defense, the Quakers had worked throughout the prior week on a system in which the defense shifted into and out of zone at various times. By the second quarter, the Quakers' game was clicking. "We mixed it up depending on whether the middies inverted or not," Penn defenseman Steve Gross, adding that the team "came out anxious, but we settled down by the second period." The second half was a almost a repeat of the first. Brown reasserted its superiority in ball-possession, and with it bumped the lead back up to six, as a result of some precision passing and the goal-scoring heroics of senior Brian McNally. The fourth quarter was a different story as attckman Andy Crofton led Penn back into contention. After dropping a perfect pass that would have left him alone with Brown goalie Greg Cattrano, the tri-captain redeemed himself by scoring two straight goals -- a difficult behind-the-back shot and a leaning sidearm rocket into the top of the net -- that cut Penn's deficit to 12-9. The Quakers comeback was on, setting the stage for Schroeder ill-fated chase and Selig's clinching goal in the final minute.