'Orange' juices Quakers

The Penn men's lacrosse team was overwhelmed by Syracuse and its 7,300 fans. The Penn men's lacrosse team has made great strides towards rebuilding itself this year, but Syracuse provided a harsh lesson on Saturday, as the Quakers learned that they aren't ready to do battle with the nation's elite. In front of an astonishing 7,339 people at the Carrier Dome, the Orangemen (8-2) used their dominating offense to down the Quakers, 19-10. The loss dropped the Red and Blue (5-5) back to the .500 mark with two games remaining on the schedule. The result was to be expected when facing a Syracuse team which boasts a frequently used chat group on its official World Wide Web page, but the Orangemen left no doubt of their elite status after dominating most every aspect of the game. Paced by Casey Powell's five goals, the Orangemen pummeled Quakers goalie Matt Schroeder with 72 shots. The nation's leading scorer, Powell had shoved home three scores less than 11 minutes into the game to put the Orangemen up 5-2. Quakers coach Marc Van Arsdale said that Powell, who notched his 100th career goal on Saturday, is playing at a level above everyone else and is likely the best player in the country right now. To compound Penn's troubles, Powell is joined by linemates who are also among the nations best, creating an offensive unit for the Orangemen that provides non-stop offense. Penn hoped to slow down the tempo, but Syracuse's potent front line refused to be controlled on its home turf. Penn's best slow down tactic was forcing the referee to stop play with his whistle and penalty flag. Eight penalties gave Penn chances to catch its breath, but it also led to four Syracuse extra-man-advantage goals. Akin to the Alamo, Penn never gave up and went to its death shooting the whole way. John Ward played Davy Crockett, recording a hat trick while spending the 60 minutes being hacked by Syracuse's defense. Before the ammunition ran out, Penn had taken 45 shots of its own, but the Carrier Dome crowd would settle for nothing less than a carnivorous finish. "John Ward was the guy who I think was reflective of the heart that we played with all day," Van Arsdale said. "John was getting beat all over the place, but he continued to fight and kept coming hard to the goal. He gave us a lift and never dropped his head over the course of the entire game trying to keep other people up. That is the kind of thing that you would want from a leader and one of your better players." Syracuse left its starting unit out on the field the whole way thanks to their distrust of the voters of the national lacrosse poll. After last week's 19-7 thrashing of Rutgers, Syracuse dropped from No. 5 to No. 6 in the polls, leaving the Orangemen feeling that they needed to pour it on the Quakers to make a bid for a top-four spot. As they prepare for their run at a 15th straight Final Four appearance, Syracuse desperately wants a top-four seeding and a first-round bye. "I'm really torn when I have 25 kids behind me and I turn around and they have that woeful look and those big eyes saying, 'Now, coach?' And I say to myself, they work hard and they deserve a chance, and I owe it to them," Syracuse coach Roy Simmons told the Herald American of Syracuse. "But then, they don't have the experience. I'll clean the bench and because of a lack of defensive experience suddenly I'll regret it because the USILA looks at it and says, 'Syracuse had a tough time with Penn'." Despite the lopsided loss, Van Arsdale was still mostly pleased with his guys' performance. Citing the ability to hang around and make a couple runs after being down 4-1 in the early going, and again in the final two minutes before halftime, Van Arsdale called the event "a positive experience." Penn tried to stem the flow of Syracuse goals, but every time the Quakers cut the lead, Syracuse struck back with another longer run of its own.

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