Big Red squeeze by M. Lax in thriller

The Penn men's lacrosse team waged its second-consecutive epic battle last weekend. But this time, the roles were reversed, as the Red and Blue were unsuccessful in their invasion of Cornell. Penn was unable to upset No. 7 Big Red, as the Quakers fell, 10-9, in New Canaan, Conn. In a game destined for a captivating finish, the score was tied 4-4 at the half. However, the Big Red rallied to an 8-5 lead and seemed to be in control with 11 minutes remaining. Then, everything turned around, as Penn's Kevin Cadin found the net twice. The Quakers were suddenly within one. After a Big Red goal from Andrew Schardt, Penn found itself in a 2-goal hole with a minute left to play. But the Quakers refused to roll over. With just 52.7 seconds left, the Quakers staged a last-minute charge, as Scott Solow found the back of the net. "We knew we had to do something," Solow said. "I cut across the middle, got the ball and put it in." Following Solow's goal, Penn coach Marc van Arsdale signaled for a time-out and laid out a play he envisioned would provide the tying goal. The play gave Andrew Solow a shot on goal, but Cornell's Cynar blocked the ball, giving Cadin the opportunity for a rebound score -- an opportunity he fully capitalized on, sending a game many would have written off into overtime. "I got the rebound and put it in; I was in the right place at the right time," Cadin said. The two goals gave the Quakers the momentum, and Penn won the opening face-off in the overtime period. But Cornell's Frank Sands beat Penn goalie Ryan Kelly only 67 seconds into the extra frame. Van Arsdale noted that it was an emotionally difficult loss, but that the Quakers won a nearly identical game just last week against Harvard. "Both teams fought a hard- fought, even game," Van Arsdale said. "We were fortunate to get the 10-9 win the week before." The Quakers will look to avenge their second Ivy loss today as they host rival Princeton at 4:30 p.m. at Franklin Field. The Red and Blue fell victim to the Tigers last season by a score of 10-4. "Princeton hasn't lost an Ivy game in so long; we definitely want to be the team that stops their streak," Cadin said. An energized van Arsdale feels strongly that he and his team are ready to dethrone reigning Ivy champ Princeton tomorrow, despite the emotional hardship of the Cornell loss. "You'd like to have more time to prepare for a team like Princeton, but in terms of the emotional side we don't have time to dwell," Van Arsdale said. Solow, who began the last minute rally against Cornell, believes his team can and will leave the field tomorrow with a victory. "We're going to the game expecting to play hard and expecting to get a win," Solow said.

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