M. Lax puts up 25-spot in rout

This was a blowout. And the final score doesn't tell the whole story. Penn scored 16 times before St. Joseph's tallied even one. Seventeen Quakers netted at least one goal. And in an unusual roster move, 40 of the 43 players on the Penn men's lacrosse team saw time on Franklin Field last night in the Quakers' (6-4) 25-6 thrashing of St. Joseph's (3-8). Penn's point total was one short of its school record of 26, set against Drexel in 1994. The only Penn players who didn't get into the game last night were the three goalkeepers. They remained on the sidelines so that senior goalie Bill Kane could play his first game of the season from first whistle to final buzzer. "Just getting the chance to play was the best part of the game for me," Kane said. "Every minute meant that much to me." The high-scoring evening also provided a memorable farewell to the team's eight seniors in their last career game at Franklin. All senior attackmen and midfielders recorded at least one point in their final home game. "We didn't expect the game to turn out like it did," Penn sophomore defenseman Evan Weinberg said. "We just wanted to come out and play hard for the seniors who have dedicated the past four years to this team." Van Arsdale echoed Weinberg's sentiments, identifying Senior Night as a prime motivating factor heading into the game. "It's big for [the seniors]," he said. "It gave us a source of energy and everyone rose to the occasion. It was a nice way for them to send them off." For the seniors, the reality of nearing the end hasn't settled in just yet. "It really hasn't hit me yet," Kane said. "I'm sure over the next week or so it will really begin to set in. I know I can speak for all eight of us when I say we'll miss every minute of it. As much as we complain through practice and working out, we'll all miss it." The Quakers posted some of the team's largest scoring numbers in history, including the initial 16-0 run that the Hawks finally managed to end just 26 seconds before halftime. "We got a lot from everyone tonight," Penn coach Marc Van Arsdale said. "We played pretty much the entire roster, which was a nice reward at the end of the home season, especially for the guys who come out to practice and work hard every day but don't see as much game time." The Red and Blue utilized the game to showcase their season-long offensive strategy of unselfish scoring. Nineteen members of the Penn squad finished with at least one point and nine Quakers notched their first points of the season. "I've never played in a game like this, especially in college," freshman defenseman David Delaney said. "Everyone got their shot." Perhaps the most difficult task of the evening for the Quakers was maintaining focus while holding what seemed to an insurmountable lead for more than half the game. "Both teams kept of their level of play and we were able to stay sharp and continue to play hard," Van Arsdale said. "It didn't turn into rag-tag lacrosse." The Hawks are in the midst of a rebuilding season after losing 11 seniors from a team that went 12-4 last year. And as much as the Quakers can revel in their rout, they can't afford to forget that they were in the Hawks' position exactly two weeks ago in a 19-8 loss to Princeton. "We knew coming in that we had the upper hand," van Arsdale said. "They're a very young team, but we were on the other side just a few games ago when we played Princeton. The confidence is where it should be, and we have to continue to build on that." The Quakers have a formidable task ahead of them, as they travel to Syracuse to face the Orangemen (7-2) on Saturday. With a three game winning streak under their belts, the Red and Blue will be the underdog, looking to be a spoiler of the No. 2 Orangemen's strong season thus far. "Tonight was a very good win for us and gave us a confidence boost," freshman midfielder Will Phillips said. "We'll definitely be able to use that heading into the weekend."

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