Penn has one last chance for Ivy win

Quakers seniors look toQuakers seniors look toupset No. 20 Yale in theirQuakers seniors look toupset No. 20 Yale in theirfinal conference game For the sixth and final time this season, the Penn men's lacrosse team ventures forth in search of an Ivy League victory tomorrow. And also for the sixth time in league play, it will be against a nationally-ranked opponent. This time the opponent is Yale (6-5, 4-1 Ivy League), a team which has climbed to No. 20 in the most recent Face-Off magazine poll and currently stands second in the conference. In addition to an advantage on paper, the Elis will also host the 1 p.m. contest. "They have a veteran group, with three seniors on attack," Penn coach Terry Corcoran said. "We'll approach the game like we did against Brown. We'll play multiple defenses." Complicating the picture is the uncertainty about Quakers top goalie Matt Schroeder's health. The freshman may have broken his thumb in the first half of Wednesday's game against Adelphi. A decision will be made tomorrow as to whether he will play or if the one of the backups -- Shane Lavery and Keith Menig -- will get the nod. Whoever the goalie is, he will depend on the defensive unit to slow the Elis' experienced attack. The feature man for Yale is senior Tom Zaccagnino, an honorable mention All-American last year. But he is just one member of a veteran attack unit that has been playing together for the past few years. "We can't give up any fast breaks," Corcoran said. "There were too many broken plays against Syracuse [last weekend]. We are just going to have to make them play six-on-six." The Quakers (4-9, 0-5) began their preparation for the match at an unusual locale yesterday. With the Penn Relays getting priority on Penn's athletic fields, the team shuttled across University City to Drexel, where they practiced on a grass field in order to ready themselves for the natural turf in New Haven, Conn. "It changes the game a little," said Quakers senior attackman Andy Crofton, who broke the Penn career goals record against Adelphi. "You have to shoot for the net more, since the ball takes a different bounce off the ground. And the game can be a lot scrappier -- the groundballs are more competitive." Although the game will not change the Quakers' last-place standing in the nation's top conference, the contest is still a key for the team and possibly the lacrosse program. The team's seniors would like nothing better than to end their careers with a win, rather than with a 16th straight Ivy loss, dating back to the third game of their sophomore years. "It means a lot to the seniors, not only to leave with a win, but also for the future," Crofton said. "We need to win a game that we're not supposed to win." All four of the Quakers' wins this season have been against Division II schools or unranked teams in weaker conferences. Crofton downplays Yale's place in the polls, but points out one crucial Elis advantage. "They're not more talented than we are -- they're just more accustomed to winning," he said. If balls had bounced another way, Penn also might be "accustomed" to victory. But the rationalizations and replays are now in the past. What's left is one last chance.