Undefeated Harvard visits M. Lax

The Crimson have yet to play an Ivy League game, but Penn has not toppled them since 1993. The Penn men's lacrosse team has not defeated Harvard since 1993, although the Quakers came close in an 8-7 overtime loss in Cambridge, Mass., last season. Penn's (3-2, 0-1 Ivy League) long dry spell against the Crimson will doubtless be a motivating factor as Harvard visits Franklin Field tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. "We want to win just for the sake of winning," senior co-captain Bill Fowler said. "But I think that not beating Harvard over the past four years adds more pressure than [the] Yale [loss]." The Quakers lost their Ivy opener to the Elis in a close 11-10 contest in New Haven, Conn., over spring break and look to improve their Ivy record to .500 tomorrow. "Going in the hole last weekend against Yale probably puts a little more importance on the game," Penn coach Marc Van Arsdale said. "But there really are no larger implications other than [Harvard] -- a good league opponent that we haven't beaten in some time." The Crimson will be sporting an undefeated 3-0 record at Franklin Field after wins over Boston College, Colgate and Hobart. The Quakers, meanwhile, enter the contest one game over .500 after routing Lafayette last Tuesday, 20-5. "They're certainly not [Lafayette]," Van Arsdale said of the Crimson. "There's none of those in our league." On offense, the Quakers will be challenged by one of the league's best defensemen, preseason College Lacrosse All-American and Harvard senior captain Jeff Psaki. Psaki will draw the Quakers' No. 1 attackman, senior co-captain Pete Janney. "He's good," Janney said. "I've been playing against him for a couple of years now, and Jeff's always been a good matchup." Psaki won't be the only roadblock to the Crimson net tomorrow. The Quakers will also have to contend with yet another preseason All-American in junior goalie Keith Cynar, who Van Arsdale said is "probably the best returning goalie in the league." The key to penetrating this star-studded defense is to get on top early. "When a team has a good goalie, it's important to put shots on the cage and put some in early," Janney said. "You can't let the guy get motivated and fired up." While Janney and the forwards will concentrate on putting the ball in the net, the Quakers' other captain, senior defenseman Fowler, will work to prevent the Crimson from doing the very same thing. "Their big guns, their shooters, are their [midfielders]," Fowler said. "The attackers do a good job of feeding the middies, which forces us to slide." Van Arsdale is also concerned about the quality of the Crimson midfielders. "They have a lot of different personnel that can attack you in a lot of different ways," Van Arsdale said. "They switch back and forth between midfield and attack." Regardless of the recent history between these two teams, both Janney and Fowler counted the fact that the Quakers will be playing at home after four consecutive road games to weigh heavily in their favor. "It feels awesome to be back at home," Fowler said. "There's really nothing like Franklin Field." Franklin Field is different, not just because it's one of the most historic fields in the country, but because it has something the Red and Blue haven't played on for the last four games -- artificial turf. The Quakers prefer turf because they feel it lets them exploit their superior athleticism. "On turf, there's always good footing, and things are a little bit cleaner," Van Arsdale said. "Turf is better for us because we're a much quicker and faster team," Fowler said. "It prevents us from sliding and falling down." Van Arsdale is quick to point out that, while turf benefits the Quakers' speed, every player has plenty of experience on grass. "I think [the benefits of turf] can be overblown. Every guy has played every game of his life on grass up till now," Van Arsdale said. "You don't want to use [the turf] as a crutch, or for it to become a mental problem." While the Quakers do have plenty of experience on grass, it is quite obvious that they prefer the artificial stuff. "Once you experience the turf, bounce shots are a lot easier, and you can really use your speed," Janney said. "Grass is an equalizer. Turf gives more athletic teams like us an advantage."