In the days leading up to the Penn men's lacrosse team's matchup against No. 2 Princeton, several players remained steadfast in their goal to challenge one of the top teams in the nation.
"We know that they're not unbeatable," senior co-captain Evan Weinberg said Sunday.
The Quakers made it clear they believed this sentiment as they gave the Tigers all they could handle yesterday with stingy defense and five goals from their freshmen. It was not enough, however, as Penn fell, 12-6, at Franklin Field.
"I knew our guys would be fired up for this game after the disappointing effort on Saturday [at Cornell]," Penn coach Brian Voelker said. "We gave these guys a run; they're as good as any team out there."
The loss snapped the Quakers' five- game winning streak at home -- dating back to last season -- and continued the Tigers' 14-year win streak against Penn.
This time, Penn (4-4, 1-2 Ivy League) was on Princeton's tail until the final period.
Twice during the game, the Quakers came from behind, only to find themselves facing a larger deficit after Princeton's goal-scoring runs.
"They have a lot of weapons, but if we could have cut down some of their strings of goals, we would have really been in the game," Voelker said.
Trailing 4-2 in the second period, the Quakers managed to tie the game with goals from freshmen Chase McGowan and D.J. Andrzejewski.
Junior Will Phillips assisted on McGowan's goal, extending his point streak to 13 games.
The Tigers (5-2, 2-0 Ivy) responded, however, with three consecutive goals -- two off assists from junior All-American Ryan Boyle -- to take a 7-4 lead into halftime.
But the Quakers' offense exploded again at the start of the second half. Freshman Patrick Rogers tallied his team-high third assist of the game with a one-touch pass to Andrzejewski for his second goal of the game. Freshman Luke Dixson's goal off a pass from senior Jake Martin decreased the deficit to 7-6 with 6:17 to play in the third quarter.
The Tigers stormed right back, scoring three goals in the next two minutes as part of a string of five unanswered goals, while holding Penn scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
"We played tough when we were down in the last minute and when we were tied," senior co-captain Alex Kopicki said. "I don't think we ever had them on the ropes, but we gave our best effort out there."
The Quakers held a brief 1-0 lead when freshman James Riordan opened the scoring 6:08 into the game. Three Princeton goals later, Kopicki scored his only goal to bring Penn within one.
Penn senior goalie Mark Gannon matched his career-high performance with 13 saves.
"We were playing hard physically, but we had a few mental breakdowns," Gannon said. "They took advantage of a few good looks from their guys who worked from behind the net."
The Tigers were led by Boyle, who recorded a game-high five assists before suffering a hamstring injury at the end of the third period. The 2002 Ivy League Player of the Year and Princeton's leading scorer this year will be sidelined indefinitely -- he will not play in Friday's game against Quinnipiac.
Princeton senior Josh White scored a game-high three goals while senior Matt Trevenen added two goals and two assists for the Tigers.
