Some coaches spend their entire careers instilling the virtue of consistency in their players. Athletes strive -- day in and day out -- for the consistency that molds champions. The most storied dynasties in sports history are the products of consistent perseverance and performance.
In the world of sports, consistency is everyone's goal. The trophies that capture the biggest moments, and the banners that represent the most prolific accomplishments, symbolize this inspiring stability.
Michael Jordan, Cal Ripken Jr., Mario Lemieux -- you get the point.
For Penn men's lacrosse, however, consistency defines a 2004 season that has shown great promise, but has produced that "so close" feeling time and time again.
Finishing off their home schedule with a convincing 10-5 victory over No. 10 Brown last Saturday, the Quakers cruised to a perfect record in six contests at Franklin Field this season, polishing off a campaign that featured exciting wins over rivals Harvard and Cornell.
In front of its home crowd, Penn has been dominant -- beating two top 10 teams, Cornell and Brown, while hanging on to close leads in the winding seconds of play against Villanova and Bucknell.
Away from the friendly confines of Franklin Field, however, the Quakers have yet to pull out a victory in five contests. The team's 6-0 home record has been tarnished by its 0-5 road performance.
Facing No. 1 Johns Hopkins the first week of the season -- entering as a heavy underdog -- Penn mustered a courageous effort against arguably the nation's most talented team. Though the Quakers lost, 10-9, it seemed to spark the rejuvenation of a struggling program, something that was still coveted when Penn hired the former Blue Jays alum, Brian Voelker, two years ago.
Instead, the loss began a pattern of ineffectiveness away from Franklin Field that would prevent the team's progression into a legitimate Ivy League threat.
While the Quakers continued to dominate at home, they continued to struggle on the road. The squad continuously found itself in close contests late, but consistently failed to hang on in the final quarter.
In their next four road matchups against Army, Yale, Dartmouth and Princeton, the Red and Blue entered the final frame trailing by no more than three goals. However, the Quakers was unable to win a single fourth quarter, as their opponents outscored them by a total of 16-6.
With a 6-5 record, the Quakers still have a slim opportunity to earn the program's first playoff bid since 1989. Wins at Loyola (Md.) and No. 3 Maryland would assuredly bring a tremendous amount of respect to a program that has made great strides since Voelker's arrival in 2002.
In reality, with a 6-0 home record and a dismal 0-5 mark away from the comforts of Philadelphia, consistency looks to be this team's biggest fault.
