The Penn men's lacrosse team will battle traditional non-conference powerhouses Johns Hopkins and Syracuse this season. However, Penn's goal is to win its fifth-ever Ivy League crown.
"Playing well in the Ivy League is important because the winner gets the automatic bid to the tournament," Penn coach Brian Voelker said.
After two successful games during break, the Quakers begin Ivy play tomorrow at Harvard.
"All of our Ivy League games will be really competitive this year," senior co-captain Evan Weinberg said. "Harvard is just the first on the list."
The Quakers (3-2) head to Boston riding the momentum from their two home wins last week over Mount St. Mary's and nationally-ranked Army.
Senior midfielder Alex Kopicki sparked a fourth quarter comeback, scoring three goals in the final period as the Quakers defeated the Mountaineers, 11-9.
Four days later, the Red and Blue defeated No. 18 Army, 13-8. Led by senior Jake Martin and junior midfielder Will Phillips -- who combined for seven goals -- the Quakers denied Army head coach Jack Emmer from capturing an NCAA record 301st win.
"The Army game was a big one for us, since it proved that we can not only compete, but win at the national level," Voelker said.
Harvard (2-2, 0-0 Ivy) struggled early this season with losses to Bucknell and Fairfield, but was able to rebound last Tuesday against Holy Cross.
Senior co-captain Doug Logigian, an All-America candidate, led the Crimson that day, netting four goals in the 18-5 thrashing.
The Quakers will put senior Mark Gannon in goal to defend Harvard's potent offense, which bombarded the Crusaders' goaltenders with 66 shots.
"Mark has settled in well at the toughest position in lacrosse," Voelker said. "He's communicating well and starting to develop a role at a position he didn't play at all last season."
