Apparently, the men's lacrosse team can play the role of either favorite or underdog.
The No. 10 Quakers, who have been seen as an upstart team for most of the season, finally entered a matchup as the clear choice to win when they took on Robert Morris Sunday at Franklin Field.
They didn't disappoint, steamrolling one of the worst teams in Division I lacrosse, 18-4.
But just because the Quakers' offense turned this one into a laugher early on, it was nonetheless a must-win game for a team that is still squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
"In our position here, we haven't gone into too many games where we've been the overwhelming favorite," Penn coach Brian Voelker said. "The bottom line is, I was a little bit worried all week, and I was hoping that our guys took [the opponents] seriously."
Many teams that face Robert Morris (1-12, 0-4 ECAC) are forced to deal with that problem. The Colonials had dropped 11 straight games before Sunday, with their only win coming in a season-opening matchup with Division III Seton Hill.
Penn (10-2, 4-2 Ivy) wasted little time extending that streak to 12.
After Robert Morris' Andrew Watt scored less than a minute into the contest, Penn senior James Riordan evened the score at one off of a feed from classmate Patrick Rogers.
It was all Penn from there, as the Andrzejewski brothers -- senior D.J. and freshman Craig -- combined for four goals before the quarter ended, the last one an unassisted shot by the elder sibling as time expired. That gave the Quakers a comfortable 5-1 lead.
It looked, though, as if the Colonials could still make a game of it, as they kept Penn at bay for almost five minutes to open up the second quarter.
But as soon as the Quakers' momentum began to falter, their defense managed to pick off a pass at midfield, and D.J. Andrzejewski tallied his fourth and final goal of the day off the ensuing fast break.
Penn would add five more goals -- three of them unassisted -- before halftime.
The Colonials' Justin Backstrom finally ended his team's nearly 40-minute-long scoring drought, netting an unassisted goal with 5:27 to play in the quarter.
By then, though, Voelker was emptying his bench and the game was effectively over.
Eleven different players scored for Penn, with D.J. Andrzejewski, Alan Eberstein, Tim Hlavin and Alex Weber all finding the net at least twice. Penn outshot Robert Morris by a staggering 53-14 margin.
This game represents the last action the team will see for almost two weeks, when they will take on No. 3 Maryland on the road.
"We needed to go into this two-week stretch on a positive note," Voelker said.
The victory allowed Penn to reach double digits in wins for the first time in 18 years. That was also the last time the team won a game in postseason play.
PENN 5 6 5 2 -- 18RMC 1 0 1 2 -- 4
