The Penn men's lacrosse team will put a big red circle around next week's game against Loyola on its calendar.
It will probably be the Quakers' only chance to salvage another win this season.
The Red and Blue finished their Ivy campaign winless after a 10-8 loss to No. 19 Brown on Saturday.
And while the game against the Bears (5-3, 2-1 Ivy) was another example of just how close Penn's losses have been, it provided little consolation to the players and coaches as the Quakers' losing streak hit nine games.
"It is very frustrating," Penn coach Brian Voelker said. "We haven't been able to get over the hump, and this time we put ourselves in a hole early in the game."
That hole was a 4-0 first-quarter deficit that was spearheaded by Brown midfielder Britton Derkac. The senior tallied three of the Bears' four goals in the opening period and finished with a game-high four goals.
"Anytime your opponent jumps out to a big lead like that early, you're working extra hard to catch up," Voelker said. "Our guys certainly gave it their all."
The Quakers (1-10, 0-6) answered with three consecutive goals in the second period, but were never able to tie the game.
Penn junior D.J. Andrzejewski returned from his one-game absence due to a concussion he suffered against Princeton. The Quakers' leading scorer tallied two key assists during the second period but was held scoreless on the day.
"I thought D.J. played pretty well out there today," Voelker said. "He was held scoreless but he was definitely a force."
The endgame played out exactly like the rest of Penn's close losses this season -- with the Quakers scrambling to rally from a three-goal deficit in the final minutes.
Junior Alan Eberstein's unassisted goal cut Penn's deficit to one with 19 seconds left in the contest. But the Quakers were unable to gain possession, and Brown scored at the last second to take home the 10-8 victory.
The Quakers are now 0-6 in games decided by fewer than two.
Unlike their previous close games, the Quakers had four extra-man advantages in the game -- including two in the critical fourth period. But they were unable to score during any of them.
"We needed to take advantage of a few of those extra-man opportunities," Voelker said. "This was probably the most we got all year, but we couldn't connect even though we took some pretty good shots."
"We just have to keep going at it and hopefully, one of these days, it will add up for us," Voelker added.
Unfortunately for the Red and Blue, time is running out.
The Quakers only have two games remaining, and one of them is against No. 9 Maryland.
But Penn will have to forget about its big game at a professional venue for another week, as it tries to earn its second victory against a Loyola team they defeated last year.
But after Saturday's loss, Voelker emphasized his team is not going to take the Greyhounds lightly.
"We just need to take the final two games one at a time and concentrate on playing our best lacrosse," Voelker said. "Obviously the guys and the entire coaching staff want another win; it's been hard on all of us this year."
