Bison drop M. Lax to 0-for-break

Losses to Navy and Virginia were not unexpected, but an 'L' to Bucknell Saturday brings out the yellow flag. After a disappointing spring break, the members of the Penn men's lacrosse team were actually happy to see school back in session. After losing 12-11 to Navy a week ago Saturday and 12-7 to Virginia this past Wednesday, Penn was dealt their final blow by Bucknell, who took advantage of the fatigued and emotionally drained Quakers, defeating them 11-8 Sunday. While Penn (1-3) was not favored against the Midshipmen (3-2) or the Cavaliers (3-1), the loss to the Bison (3-1) was unexpected and demoralizing. "It was not a bad trip until the Bucknell game," Penn coach Marc Van Arsdale said. "I expected a little more out of the Navy and Virginia games, but Sunday's performance was pathetic, maybe the worst I have ever been associated with on a team from little league on up." The three straight losses put a hold on what seemed to be a promising season for the Quakers. "I felt like we had made some strides from the Navy game to the Virginia game," Van Arsdale said. "We probably assumed too many good things about ourselves after the Virginia game." "We have to approach every team as if we are playing the national champions," senior midfielder Joe Mauro said. "Right now no one gives us any respect and deservingly so. Respect is something you have to earn." Penn began the weekend up 3-1 in the first period against Navy. The Midshipmen, capable of scoring in bunches, took a 9-6 halftime lead. "We came out with a lot of fire," Van Arsdale, "We were physically not backing down to a team that tries to intimidate you a little bit." Playing catch-up for most of the second half, the Quakers, who outscored Navy 3-1 in the final quarter, could not overcome the Midshipmen. Mauro and sophomore attack Peter Janney added two goals and two assist apiece, while freshman attackman Todd Minerley contributed two goals and an assist. When the final whistle blew it was deja vu for the Quakers, suffering a one-goal loss for the second straight year to Navy. Although the game frustrated the Quakers, they knew they would have to be sharp in playing the No. 3 Virginia team that had just defeated the two-time NCAA champion Princeton. "We had to put this one past us," Mauro said. "If we kept thinking about Navy, we were not going to be able to compete with Virginia. We knew we had a chance if we went out and played against Virginia." After the 9-7 win that ended the No. 1 Tigers' 29-game winning streak, Virginia coach Dom Starsia was worried his team might not be focussed enough to play the improved Quakers. "We were concerned with our energy level and our enthusiasm for the game," Starsia said. "Penn was better athletically than a year ago." In the early going, the Cavaliers cruised. Down 5-1, the Quakers showed poise and surmounted a comeback that resulted in a 4-1 run to end the first half. During the third period, Penn possessed the ball well on offense and gave up little on defense. On the other side, Virginia's defense acted like a brick wall, allowing two goals the entire half. Unfortunately for the Quakers, their defense budged first, allowing Virginia to pour on four goals in the last period. The barrage took the wind out of Penn's sails, ending their hopes of an upset. "In general it was a game that we could walk off the field thinking it could have been a springboard to better things if we approach every opponent the way we did with Virginia," Van Arsdale said. Virginia's Drew McKnight carried the Cavaliers at the end with two goals and two assists in the final period. "McKnight made a couple of great catches in front of the cage and converted those into goals," Starsia said. "That was a catalyst for us as much as anything." Quakers' co-captain John Ward led the team with a goal and two assists, while Minerely added a goal and an assist and Janney and Mauro each chipped in with two goals. The losses finally took their toll on the Quakers as a non-aggressive team took to the field against Bucknell. Although the lack of focus had not been seen in practice days prior to the game, it became evident by the little emotion shown during pregame warm-ups. "We practiced pretty well during the week," Van Arsdale said. "In the warm-up on Sunday, we were just walking through it. There was not really a bounce in our step." Before they realized, the flat-footed Quakers found themselves down 9-0 more than halfway into the third period. Effectively executing what the Quakers had planned, Bucknell controlled the ball on the attack, wearing down the Quakers' defense and keeping Penn's attack out of sync. For most of the first three quarters, the Quakers tried to find an immediate way to get back into the game. When Ward ended the shutout with 3:28 left in the third period, Penn began to change their offensive attitude by instead chipping away at Bucknell's lead a goal at a time. In the fourth quarter, Penn outscored the Bison 6-1. "Our attack got dominated Sunday," Van Arsdale said. "They did not give us any play over the field until the very end." It was too little too late for the Quakers, who were upset by a team they had defeated 13-3 a year ago. Mauro continued his stellar play over the week with three goals and an assist. "Mauro has been far and away our most consistent and best performer every game for us," Van Arsdale said. "He has stood up and been a leader in the midfield and has given us a lot of punch especially in the extra man offense." A weekend that could have been used to impress the rest of the nation ended with speculation as to the direction of Penn's program. As the co-captain Mauro put it, the Quakers need to follow through by putting their words into actions out on the field.

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