Cusson is still M. Lax's fixture

The senior attackman is one of two four-year lacrosse players. One would have to figure that having more coaches -- three -- than Ivy victories -- one -- during his Penn career would be a frustrating experience for senior captain Jon Cusson. Although admitting there have been some tough times, Cusson maintains a positive attitude on the field as he leads the Penn men's lacrosse team in pursuit of respect for a program that has fallen a step behind its Ivy counterparts in recent years. The ratio of coaches to wins is not the only burdensome set of numbers for Cusson. He and senior Ed Hanover are the only two four-year players on the Quakers roster. Contrasted with the number of Penn freshmen, 12, Cusson has a heavy responsibility for leading the improvement of a youth-filled squad. "Jon comes out and practices hard each day," Quakers coach Marc Van Arsdale said. "He isn't overly boisterous, but he demonstrates that 'I'm going to do the drill and I'm going to do it right.' It is what you want to see out of an older guy." Cusson and the Quakers (2-3, 0-1 Ivy League) meet Lafayette tonight at 7 p.m. Franklin Field Cusson is more than a practice player, however, as he currently leads both the team and the Ivy League in scoring with 25 points. Those points give him 126 for his career, vaulting him to fifth on Penn's all-time scoring list. If he continues to score at his present pace, he could catch fourth-place Billy Morril, who accumulated 164 points from 1982-85. Cusson said that he doesn't focus on numbers and assumes they will come if he keeps improving his play. "I want to be the best player I can be at any time, and I think there are games where I haven't played the best," Cusson said. "So my personal goals are just every time I go out there to get better. Anything else will come from that. At the same time, everyone looks at the stat sheet, so that would be a factor, but those things pretty much take care of themselves." Things didn't take care of themselves in Cusson's freshman season when he struggled and clashed with then-coach G.W. Mix. Expected to perform right away for a team that did not post a winning record during any of Mix's years in charge, Cusson said his performance didn't meet the hopes of Mix or himself. "Although I got along very well with G.W. on a personal level, sometimes on the field there would definitely be clashes," Cusson said. "He wanted me to play right away and I wasn't living up to his expectations or my expectations. It was just kind of difficult." While many players on the team went through the coaching change this past summer from Terry Corcoran to Van Arsdale, Cusson also had to experience the transfer from Mix to Corcoran. Cusson saw the change as not only a good personal opportunity, but also credits Corcoran with changing the negative attitudes which pervaded the team under the final year of Mix's tenure. "Corcoran was a really great guy. He'd get so enthusiastic," Cusson said. "The team went through a lot of changes. When I was a freshman, the older guys had an attitude of as soon as something goes wrong rather than trying to persevere, it was easier to just give up. It's easy to do in light of the way the program has gone." Cleansing the program of that attitude did not produce victories, however, as Corcoran posted a cumulative record of 10-18, including 0-12 in the Ivy League. Lasting a scant two seasons, he was replaced last summer with current coach Marc Van Arsdale, who has added confidence to the locker room and tough opponents to the schedule in an attempt to boost Penn's image. While youth pervades on the Quakers' sideline, Cusson is out to make sure that his senior season is not thrown away to the gods of rebuilding. Van Arsdale concurred, saying that he made sure that Cusson knew that the seniors would not be overlooked in the new direction of the program. "I really wanted to touch base with some of the key guys [before the season]," Van Arsdale said. "I told them the time for us was now." Cusson is optimistic about the changes under his third coach in four years. "You want to work for him and you want to play for him hard. He makes you feel very much at ease which I think is a good situation. "The consensus (among the veterans) was that this is Penn lacrosse 1997. It doesn't matter what has happened in the past years. It's a new team, a new year. Looking back is not going to get us any further. Why should we dwell on that when we have a chance to progress in the future?" Cusson may not ever taste victory over an Ivy opponent the way he did in the early stages of his freshman year, but his leadership by example on the field will likely help create victories for the young and improving team in future seasons.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.