One team's losing streak is going to end on Sunday.
The Penn men's lacrosse team -- losers of three straight -- will travel to Providence, R.I. this weekend to take on Brown -- losers of five straight games.
"It's important for us to get a win after losing three in a row," Penn coach Brian Voelker said after his team's last lost, a 7-5 decision to Dartmouth on April 6 at Franklin Field. "If we play hard and go after ground balls and play with some energy, we can win all of our remaining games. If we don't, then we're not talented enough. We can't just step out on the field and expect to win games. [Brown's] going to be a tough team for us to play."
While the Bears' 2-7 record and 0-2 start in Ivy League play does not sound too intimidating, last year's Ancient Eight runners-up will pose quite a challenge for the Quakers(4-5, 1-3 Ivy).
Senior Jon Thompson -- the Ivy League's second leading scorer with 25 goals and an All-Ivy selection from a year ago -- leads Brown on offense.
In Brown's last game, held on April 9, Thompson netted seven goals in a 12-11 loss to the nation's third-ranked Georgetown. This was the most goals scored in a single game by an Ivy Leaguer in the last two years.
While Thompson is proficient at putting the ball in the net, Brown goalie Mike Levin has been equally skilled at keeping it out.
The Brown junior had a breakout season in net last year with a 9.38 goals against average and .602 save percentage, including an 18-save performance against last year's national champs, Syracuse.
These stats were good enough for an honorable mention on the All-American team, as well as a spot on the first team All-Ivy and All-New England Squads.
Penn counters with its own hot goalie -- Mark Gannon. The senior was named to the Ivy League Honor Roll last week for sterling performances between the pipes against Dartmouth and Princeton in losing efforts.
However, it will take more than stopping the other team from scoring to end the losing streak. If the Quakers are going to get back to their winning ways, they are going to have to shoot the ball better.
In the Dartmouth game, Penn netted only five goals, despite outshooting the Big Green, 36-28.
While the Quakers have been mired in a losing streak, one Penn player, junior Will Phillips has a streak of his own. The midfielder has scored at least one point in a team-leading 14 consecutive games -- including every game this season. Phillips has netted 12 goals and notched 18 assists this season. He shares the team-lead in points with seniors Alex Kopicki and Jake Martin.
While Phillips has soared, the Quakers offense has floundered, averaging only six goals per game during its four Ivy League matchups. While the defense has been sound, especially against Dartmouth and Harvard when it held them to seven and eight goals respectively, Penn has not scored enough to win in the Ivy League this season.
