Lucky number four

For the second time in as many weeks, the Penn men's lacrosse team found itself on the brink of going into overtime against an inferior Ivy opponent.

And for the second time, the Quakers avoided extra time, coming out on top.

Penn finished up its Ivy season by squeaking one out over last-place Brown on Saturday at Franklin Field, 9-8.

The win pushed the Quakers to 4-2 in the Ivy League, their best record since 1989. During that span, the most games the team won was three.

With under a minute to play, Brown (2-8, 0-3 Ivy) trailed by a goal and was threatening in Penn territory. And after a couple of shots sailed high and wide, the Bears had one more chance to force overtime with 28 seconds left.

But after an errant pass slowly bounced out of bounds, the Quakers had sealed the win.

Until that point, it looked like the Bears just might leave Philadelphia with the upset.

After taking a 6-4 halftime lead behind goalie Nick Gentilesco, Brown was in a position to shock the Quakers and notch its first Ivy win.

Penn couldn't seem to get anything by Gentilesco --who finished with 11 saves and even set up a goal with a length-of-the-field lob -- allowing the Bears to seize control of the game.

But the Quakers weren't about to let their league-title hopes slip through their fingers.

"We realized this was our season if we lose this game," said senior attacker James Riordan, who moved into the team lead for goals with a hat trick on Saturday.

"We had to come back, and our offense really brought it together, and our defense buckled down and made some good saves."

Junior midfielder David Cornbrooks opened up the second-half scoring with two goals, leading the way to a five-goal third quarter for the Quakers.

The defense also pulled its weight, holding the Bears scoreless in one stretch for 24 consecutive minutes, including the entire third quarter.

Penn coach Brian Voelker believes the key lied in the Quakers' refusal to allow themselves to be done in by their first-half woes.

"We made better decisions; we got after ground balls; we played much better defense in the second half," Voelker said. "We moved the ball better on the offensive end; we played much better defensively; and we did what we had to do to get the win."

Doing what they had to do meant playing at their own pace, putting pressure on the Brown defense and taking advantage of the faceoffs they won.

Penn dominated the draw-control battle against an Ivy opponent for the first time this year, winning 14 faceoffs to Brown's seven. Senior attacker D.J. Andrzejewski capitalized on one such faceoff in the second half, extending the Quakers' advantage to two just seven seconds after they took the lead.

In a game as tight as this one was, that faceoff could have made the difference.

Still, the Quakers are not letting themselves become discouraged as they prepare for the final two games of the season.

"Every 'W' is a good win," Andrzejewski said. "We're just going to move on from here."

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