When the Penn men's lacrosse team takes on Loyola in search of its second win of the season tomorrow, there will be no question that senior Denis Cole will be starting in goal for the Red and Blue.
But that same question was the biggest problem for the team at the start of the season.
Cole, who never started a game until this season, began the year neck-and-neck with sophomore goalie Gregory Klossner for the starting spot.
But neither goalie was able to stand out against the other during the fall scrimmages and practices, and Penn coach Brian Voelker began to realize he had a goalie controversy on his hands.
"The goalie position really was up in the air after the fall season," Voelker said. "It was between Greg and Denis, who were both playing pretty well."
"Gregory and I both left the fall with the spot still completely open," Cole said.
Before Christmas break, each player met with Voelker to talk about offseason training and his standing on the team.
The third-year coach had never platooned goalies before, but he told Cole that he might have to resort to that tactic when the season began.
"He was like, 'If things keep going dead even, and we don't have a guy, that's what we're going to have to do until someone emerges and takes the spot,'" Cole said.
Both Klossner and Cole each played a half in the Red and Blue's spring scrimmages against Binghamton, Towson and Rutgers.
But as the Quakers' season opener against Villanova drew closer, both goalies still had no idea who would get the final nod.
"We knew Greg was going to start the 'Nova game, I would say, midweek before we played them," Cole said. "Coach called us into his office on the Wednesday or Thursday I think, and told us Greg was gonna start."
Some coaches might not even consider starting a sophomore over a senior, but Voelker, since he arrived at Penn, has always been about performance.
"It really was a last-minute decision," Voelker said. "We thought Greg performed a little better during the last few scrimmages, but either one could have started that first game."
Even Cole admitted that the decision to start Klossner was not set in stone.
"They told me before the Villanova game to be ready for the second half," Cole said. "And Greg played pretty well in the first half, so it was pretty clear he was going to play the second half."
With Klossner putting up pretty solid numbers -- he gave up just over six goals a game in his first three starts -- Cole was relegated to the reserve role.
But while some seniors might have let their last year of their college career slip away, Cole did not give up.
The Manhasset, N.Y., native kept up his physical intensity in practices and was able to come in when his team really needed him.
Cole took over in the second half against Lehigh on March 16 after the Mountain Hawks pounded the Quakers for nine first-half goals.
Similarly against Yale three days later, Cole started the fourth quarter to help contain the Elis, who had already scored 13 goals.
By the time the Bucknell game rolled around on March 22, Voelker had found a new starting goalie.
"We were ready for a change, and I feel that Denis really picked it up and played great," Voelker said. "He has really come through for us and solidified that defense."
For the next six games, Cole registered an 8.85 goals against average -- fifth-best in the Ivy League -- as well as 68 saves.
But one important statistic has still eluded Cole this season: a win. Since he retained the starting job, the Quakers have dropped six consecutive games, which are part of a larger nine-game losing streak.
"The last couple of weeks, you really begin to realize this is the last round; this is it," Cole said.
"We really don't want to finish this year with one win, we really don't want to finish it with two either," Cole added.
The Quakers best chance to earn another victory will come tomorrow, when they take on a Loyola team that is in the midst of a three-game losing streak of its own.
But the Greyhounds have also looked impressive in a one-goal loss to current No. 2 Duke and a three-goal loss to No. 3 Georgetown.
The Quakers will also have to put away thoughts about their televised season finale against No. 10 Maryland at Lincoln Financial Field on May 7.
But Cole insists that the team has had no problem focusing its energies on Loyola.
"It's very easy to concentrate on Loyola right now when you're 1-10," Cole said. "We're just taking it one game at a time."
And for someone who started the season on the bench, Cole should have a lot of practice taking it one game at a time.
