Penn ends year with loss to Yale

Crofton breaks PennCrofton breaks Penncareer points record The Penn men's lacrosse team season ended its season in appropriate fashion Saturday in New Haven, Conn. The Quakers fell 16-15 to the No. 20 Elis after coming within a goal of tying the game with one-and-a-half minutes to play in regulation. "The game really typified the season," Penn senior Vern Briggs said. "We really matched up well against Yale. With a couple of obvious cases, like Syracuse and Princeton, I think we've matched up with every team we've gone up against this year. "I think the one thing that Yale had over us was that they had a lot more experience. They have a lot of seniors who have been winning for four years, and we have a very small core of experienced players that are complemented by many inexperienced players." Yale (7-5, 5-1 Ivy League) led Penn for the entire game. The Quakers (4-10, 0-6) kept the game close throughout, however, never trailing by more than four goals. Penn was able to rebound from a three-goal halftime deficit to bring the game to 16-15 with 1:30 to play in the fourth quarter. But a series of Penn shots all missed the Yale net as time expired, and Penn's Ancient Eight losing streak was extended to 16 straight games. Senior attack Andy Crofton led the Penn effort with six goals and one assist, and Jon Cusson contributed four goals and an assist. Crofton was once again the bright spot in a disappointing Penn effort. In his last game in a Quakers uniform, Crofton broke the Penn career points record. Crofton finishes his career with 194 points, two more than previous record-holder Chris Conforti. After scoring only 16 goals in the team's first 12 games this season, Crofton exploded for 10 goals and three assists in his final two collegiate games to break the school records for both goals and points. Crofton broke the goal mark with his four-goal performance last Saturday against Adelphi. With the six he scored against Yale, he has a total of 110 for his career, nine more than John Shoemaker. Briggs, who finishes his collegiate career with 117 career points, will graduate as the highest-scoring midfielder in Penn history and the fifth-leading scorer overall. "I've had a lot of personal success here," Briggs said. "But it doesn't make a difference when your team doesn't go to the playoffs or you don't come back with an Ivy League championship. It leaves something to be desired. "[Andy and I] would have loved to have come up with a couple of big games under our belt and have some bragging rights." For the Quakers, who have not won an Ivy contest since defeating Cornell 10-9 on April 2, 1994, yet another season of rebuilding has come to a close. "It's been a trying year," Crofton said. "It hasn't been easy. But the team persevered and nobody gave up. Everybody went out and gave it everything they had, and that's all you can ask for."