Recruits from lacrosse hotbeds Maryland, New York add talent to Class of 2007

The 2003 season of Penn men's lacrosse will mean a lot for head coach Brian Voelker. After completing his first season with the Quakers with a 6-7 record, he will look to give Penn their second winning season since the late eighties as 17 lettermen from last year return.

But this year also marks the first time coach Voelker will add his own influence to the Quaker roster -- his 12 recruits that make up the class of 2007.

Penn's Class of 2007 is split evenly between the two nationally recognized states that seem to breed lacrosse players year after year. Six of the players come from the Baltimore and Washington regional areas of Maryland, while the other six come from high schools in suburban New York.

"I'm very excited about our new recruiting class," Voelker said in an interview last month. "I feel that our incoming freshman will make an immediate impact and replace the talent we lost from the graduating seniors."

Three pairs of freshmen join the Red and Blue having already been teammates at their respective high schools. Midfielder David Cornbrooks and attackman Alexander Salihi both played at St. Paul's in Maryland.

Cornbrooks -- a three-year varsity player -- recorded 31 goals and 15 assists in his high school career. Salihi totaled 72 goals and 40 assists in two seasons and was a 2002 Freestate team member.

The other pairs are from upstate New York. Defenseman Andrew Boyd and midfielder Samuel Oher both attended Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua.

Midfielder Mark Becker will join the roster with his starting goalie from high school, Gregory Klossner -- who is the only goalie in the Class of 2007. Both players attended Jamesville Dewitt High School.

The two other New York recruits hail from Long Island. Attackman Nicholas Hughes joins the Red and Blue from Southside High School in Rockville Centre, where he was selected Academic All-Conference in 2003.

Two-time All-County defenseman Mark Haase joins the Quakers from Garden City, currently one of the most successful programs on Long Island. In his three seasons playing lacrosse, Haase has lost a mere total of six games.

But the heavy numbers for the Class of 2007 lie in the recruits from the Baltimore and Washington D.C. metro area. Defensemen Matthew Kelleher hails from the Georgetown Prep team that finished No. 1 in the state last year with a 22-1 record. The team captain was also first team All-IAC and All-County selection. Kelleher, along with fellow recruit Duncan Swanston from Boy's Latin in Baltimore, will be expected to fill the void left by graduating co-captains Stephen Brown and Evan Weinberg last year.

While the Quakers retain their leading goal scorer last year in senior Will Phillips, they will look to add to their offensive threat with midfielder Alex Staffier and attackman Luke Wilson. Staffier led the Landon School in Bethesda to an undefeated season in 2002 and No.1 ranking in the state. Wilson was a three-year starter at the Gilman School in Baltimore and was named to the 2002 Freestate team.

While this year's recruiting class showed a strong commitment to Penn -- more than half applied early decision -- the recruits were forced to make their decision during a time of extreme volatility for Penn lacrosse. The players were forced to make a decision in the face of two coaching changes over the past three years. However, not many of the recruits seemed to weigh it considerably.

"I didn't really take it too heavily when Penn was undergoing the coaching changes," freshman Mark Haase said. "I kind of put it as an afterthought -- I still really liked [Penn] and when coach Voelker came and saw me play in the playoffs I got to know him and liked him."

The Class of 2007 will make up the first incoming class completely put together by coach Voelker and his assistants. When he first joined the Quakers last fall, coach Voelker refused to look at any previous years' tape, instead relying on fall practices to determine his roster. While the strategy gave each player an equal chance to make the team, it took up valuable practice time.

This year, coach Voelker will still not have to look at tape to determine his roster. But that's because he has already seen every team member play.

"Now we will be able to use more time in the fall to prepare for our spring opponents and develop some set plays," Voelker said. "I know that our freshman recruits will be able to fit right into what we want to do."

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