M. Lax trounces Billanova behind Janney's four

Penn attackman Pete Janney led the Quakers with four goals in a 14-4 defeat of local rvial Villanova last night to improve to 4-6. With the game still scoreless six minutes into last night's Penn-Villanova men's lacrosse match, it looked like it would be a defensive struggle. After Penn finally broke through with a goal, Villanova quickly tied it up. Penn responded with another goal only eight seconds later. Then they scored again? and again? and again. They kept right on scoring until it was 9-1 late in the second quarter. "It was a 1-1 game with about seven minutes to go, and then they beat us about four times in a row with midfield cuts," Villanova coach Randy Marks said. "They played very well today, and they finished well." The final score in Villanova Stadium was 14-4, but the game wasn't even that close. Penn (4-6) pulled away in the first half behind strong goaltending by Matt Schroeder and rushes up the field by Quakers middies for quick goals. While two-minute Villanova (4-7) possessions were common in the first half, they tended to end with turnovers and Penn goals 20 seconds later. Senior tri-captain Joe Mauro set the tone early, recovering a face-off and taking it downfield for a goal in only eight seconds. Sophomore attacker Peter Janney's four goals came an average of 27 seconds after the Quakers gained possession each time. "It was great to see [Janney] recover as quickly as he did from his [slight shoulder separation] last Saturday," Penn coach Marc Van Arsdale said. "That was an uplifting one for us, to get Peter back at full speed." In addition to Schroeder's 18 saves, he was extremely effective at starting fast breaks. He repeatedly got the ball out of his glove quickly and passed it up the field before the Wildcats could respond. "A lot of that starts by playing good defense," Van Arsdale said. "Matthew [Schroeder] was catching the saves and we were getting up the field very well." Villanova's starting goaltender, freshman Matthew Wilk, was about as bad as Schroeder was good. Wilk allowed eight goals, despite only making six saves before being pulled mid-way through the second quarter. "We got to him early, we got a couple by him and he kind of got flustered," Mauro said. "Basically with any goalie, good shots are going to go. You've just got to concentrate on taking good shots." Penn's victory was a total team effort, with four goals by Janney, two by Mauro, Mike Burka and Todd Minerley, and one each by Mike Kehoe, John Ward, Jeff Zuckerman and Joe Siedlecki. Siedlecki's goal was particularly noteworthy because it was the first by a Penn defenseman this season. It was only the third career goal for the senior tri-captain. "Ziggy Majomdar picked up a ground ball and gave me an over-the-shoulder pass," Siedlecki said. "I sprinted past the midfielder and set up in the fast break. I kept the ball instead of passing it, took a couple of steps in and shot the ball between the goalie's legs." Goals by defensemen are rare because they do not generally cross the midfield line. In addition, they play with long sticks that make it easier to guard opponents but harder to control the ball if they gain possession. The only negative for the Quakers was face-offs, which has been plaguing Penn all season, as the Wildcats won 15 of 21. This was mainly due to the proficiency of Villanova's Brian Rhodes, who came in having won 64 percent of his face-offs. Last season, Rhodes' 66.1 percent was second in the nation. "I thought we battled him on those," Van Arsdale said. "It's an area of the game we continue to struggle with a little bit, but I thought that that part of our game was significantly better than Saturday." The only other bright spot for the Wildcats was the hat trick by sophomore middie Eric Dauer. Though Dauer was only credited with two goals, his first goal rolled in while several players were scrambling for a rebound. "It was a fluke goal," Schroeder said. "It was a rebound and one guy kicked it to [Dauer] and he knocked it in with his stick. It was sort of a lazy goal, but they all count." Villanova came in fresh off two wins out west over Denver University and Air Force, which apparently inspired the playing of "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" on the loudspeaker before the game. But that only served to get the Quakers more fired up. The win gives the Quakers some momentum heading into Saturday's clash with national power Syracuse at Franklin Field.