M. Lax faces biggest test to date at No. 5 'Cuse

A Penn win over the Orangemen would be a shock, as Syracuse leads the all-time series by a resounding 18-game margin. Trying to rebound after a tough loss against Brown last weekend, the Penn men's lacrosse team travels this weekend to Syracuse, N.Y. In playing one of their best competitors this season, the Quakers (5-4) will be on stage in front of their fiercest crowd of the year at the 50,000-seat Carrier Dome. Winners of four national championships in the past decade, coach Roy Simmons, Jr.'s fifth-ranked Orangemen (7-2) are in the middle of another solid year. In its meeting with Penn, Syracuse started slow in the first half, but finally came away with a 20-11 victory, the Quakers second worst loss of the year. In the overall record of the series between the two teams, Syracuse holds a staggering 19-1-1 advantage. Even after the 13-8 loss against Brown this past weekend, the Quakers' attitude is still positive. After a solid week of practices, Penn is ready to go head-to-head with the Orangemen. "We were a little disappointed up at Brown, taking a loss up there," Penn senior midfielder Pete McGill said. "It got us down, but we will bounce back. We'll be ready for the 'Cuse." One goal for Penn tomorrow is slowing Syracuse's fast-paced offense. Led by junior All-American Casey Powell, a player considered one of the best in the nation by Penn coach Marc Van Arsdale, two-time All-American senior captain Rob Kavovit and Doug Jackson, Syracuse has put up high numbers on the scoreboard, including a 19-7 win over Rutgers last weekend. "They are a traditional run and gun team," senior captain Ed Hanover said. "They have never been a team to play patient or smart lacrosse. They think they have better athletes and just try to go up and down the field. They don't care where the ball is. They just want to play offense." The Quakers know defeating such a perennial powerhouse is a large task. Earlier this year, Syracuse suffered one of its worst losses to Brown. Van Arsdale feels if the Quakers keep control of the ball and make Syracuse mishandle the ball, like Brown did, Penn too will come out victors. "Brown did a real nice job of executing a very deliberate offense," Van Arsdale said. "As they got the lead, they frustrated Syracuse a little bit. Syracuse tried to come after them and left themselves open behind it. It was not anything magical they did. They played with some confidence. It is up to us to approach it sort of the same way and try to execute a similar plan to what Brown did." In preparation for the Orangemen's explosive attack, Penn held a scrimmage Tuesday against MAB Paint, a club lacrosse team in Philadelphia. According to Van Arsdale, the Quakers fared well against the team composed of many former college All-Americans and US Team members. After the giving up eight straight goals last week to Brown, Penn's defense made some changes over the week. Not only will the defense be involved with slowing down Syracuse, but McGill said that the middies and offense will also help by keeping better control of the ball. "We have put together a few different defenses, so we can get them out of their game," Quakers junior defender Joe Siedlecki said. "We'll try to mix it up putting in a few different zones and man-to-man defense scheme. Hopefully we can keep them out of their game and make them guess what we are doing." For senior captain Ed Hanover, it will be a ride back home for the Camillus, N.Y., native. "This would definitely be the biggest win of my career," Hanover said. "Being from Syracuse I have always wanted to beat Syracuse." With only three games left, including the one this weekend, the Quakers know they will have to come up with some positive results in those games to have a .500 record.

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