M. Lax searches for a second way to win

With a 1-4 record, the men's lacrosse team needs to break its losing streak before this weekend's Ivy League clash. After falling to Harvard in the frigid Franklin Field wind for its fourth consecutive loss, the Penn men's lacrosse team is anxious to get back on the field and fine tune its game. "It should be a good exercise for us in getting ourselves back up," Penn coach Marc Van Arsdale said. "It's nice not having to wait around a week to play again." Almost a month has passed since Penn last earned a victory. The Quakers (1-4) look to break a four-game losing streak when they visit Easton, Pa., to take on Lafayette (1-2). With much of the Ivy League season remaining, Penn has an opportunity to get on a winning track, starting with today's non-conference matchup. "Anytime you lose four in a row, you feel wounded," Van Arsdale said. "That is why it is good we are playing a game on the heels of the Harvard one. And it gives everybody a chance to start looking forward." Despite the 16-13 defeat to Harvard, no wholesale changes need to be made. According to Van Arsdale, the Quakers actually showed improvement despite finishing on the short end of the stick. Penn's problem wasn't the team's overall performance, but rather a sub-par third period, highlighting a different problem: fatigue. "We'll probably need to play some more people and give some guys a chance to rest here and there so that they can be fresh and we don't go through a five or six minute lull, and build a little more depth by playing deeper [in our lineup]," Van Arsdale said. Ironically, despite Penn's current win-loss mark, the Quakers have led the opposition in most statistical categories. Penn has won more face-offs, taken less penalty minutes and fired more shots than opponents. The Quakers have also performed well in goal thanks to their starting netminder. Penn goaltender Matt Schroeder has played all but three minutes during the first five matches of the season. The Commack, N.Y., native has stopped 57 percent of the shots he's faced, placing him third in the Ivies despite facing the second-toughest schedule among Ancient Eight goalies. Up front, several Quakers are among the Ivy scoring leaders. Attackman Pete Janney leads the conference with 20 points, including 12 goals. Joining Janney on the leaderboard is Joe Mauro (12 goals, 6 assists), John Ward (10 assists) and Todd Minerly (10 goals). On the flipside, the numbers may be skewed by the lone win in their opener -- a 17-9 triumph at St. Joseph's. The most important stat -- the win-loss mark -- is currently the most lopsided figure going against Penn. Last Saturday's home opener, a loss, makes victory on the road more imperative if the Red and Blue want to step toward .500. But the Quakers will face a team desperate to achieve the same objective. After opening the season on the road with losses at Villanova and VMI, the Leopards won at Marist 16-10 last Thursday. Lafayette's drive to even its record will depend heavily on freshman Kevin Bromby and senior captain Dallas Pulliam. Almost half of the Leopards' goals have come from the duo, including a combined six goals and four assists in the Marist victory. Lafayette will also need to rely on its rookie goaltender for a big performance. Freshman Duncan Woodard stares at his toughest competition yet, bringing a .617 save percentage to the game. On paper, the opposition is the weakest Penn has faced since the season's beginning. Still, in spite of the crucial need of a win, Van Arsdale is treating the upcoming match like any other. "We talk all the time about respecting everybody that we are going to play," Van Arsdale said. "I don't think we have any room to take someone lightly." Van Arsdale expects his team not to repeat the same mistakes after the lessons learned two weeks ago when Penn suffered a surprise loss at Bucknell. "Although we're not going to lie to our team and say Lafayette is as talented as Harvard, we need to get used to playing at a certain intensity and effort level every single time out," Van Arsdale said. The Quakers want to avoid having to come back from behind again. "We're a good enough team that we shouldn't have to rely on the fourth quarter to decide a game," junior middie Jeff Zuckerman said. "We'll look to put the game out of reach and play a full 60 minute game."