"Not only do I think Penn deserves to be in the tournament, I think they are in the tournament. I think they're a lock."
Those words came from Maryland men's lacrosse coach Dave Cottle after his No. 4 Terrapins demolished the Quakers 12-4 last Saturday.
They were strong words from a man with experience, and they lived up to their billing. Penn was selected for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in program history and will face fourth-seeded Johns Hopkins, the defending national champion.
The Blue Jays will host tomorrow's game because they sit higher in the 16-team field than the Quakers. Penn is unseeded; the tournament selection committee only ranks the top half of the field.
The matchup will be a homecoming for Penn head coach Brian Voelker, who played his college ball at Hopkins from 1988-91 and was a three-time All-American there. Assistant coaches Todd Cavallaro and Peter Jacobs, who have been on Penn's staff for a combined nine years, are also Blue Jays alumni.
Their focus, though, will likely not be on rekindling old bonds but rather on tackling the monumental task of taking down the defending champs.
And since Penn has been one of the biggest surprises in Division I lacrosse this year -- going from a 2-11 record at the end of last season to the NCAAs -- it seems appropriate that it begins its postseason against one of the most storied programs in the nation.
"All year, people haven't expected a whole lot from us," Voelker said.
But, he added, "I know what our expectations are. [They] are that we're going to work hard this week, go down to Hopkins and do everything we can to get a win."
Easier said than done.
Hopkins sports one of the most solid defenses in the game, allowing just 8.23 goals per game despite playing one of the nation's toughest schedules.
The problem is compounded by the fact that Penn has not faced Hopkins this year and has never faced it in the postseason.
"We played some similar teams, so we've seen them, but we haven't really focused on them," Voelker said.
"They have a talented attack [and] they have a super-athletic midfield," he added, singling out the Blue Jays' Jake Byrne, Kevin Huntley and Paul Rabil as players who could do significant offensive damage.
"I know they had some injuries earlier in the year, and they've been getting a little bit healthier."
However, he also cited some reasons for optimism based on the matchups he anticipates facing tomorrow.
"We need to control the ball, win some faceoffs, take great shots, play great defense. [If] we do that, I'll be happy."
But Penn may not have to simply play a scrappy, physical game in order to win. Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala pointed out several areas that give him pause as he prepares his team's defense of its title.
Penn is "a very athletic team," he said. "They're quick to the ball. We're going to have to be a team that's very good off the ground against them, because I think that they hunt ground balls" especially well.
That defensive tenacity may prove vital; in the Quakers' three losses this year -- to Harvard, Princeton and Maryland -- the team struggled to maintain possession enough to give its offense a chance to make plays.
The burden will largely fall to Penn's defenders, especially senior Alan Eberstein, sophomore Max Mauro and senior Joe Shanagan, who have combined for 116 of Penn's 329 ground balls so far this year.
If Penn is able to hold onto the ball, the statistics indicate that an upset is more than possible. Hopkins has allowed more shots on goal, assists and turnovers than its opponents on the year, while the Quakers lead their opponents in all of those categories.
Exploiting those weaknesses will likely be the first step towards a Quakers victory.
And, remarkably, the Blue Jays defense has not caused a single turnover the entire year -- an area that has plagued the Quakers from day one.
Penn has not won a game in postseason play since 1988, when it advanced to the second round with a win over Loyola College. The last time the Quakers reached the tournament, in 2004, they drew second-seeded Navy and could not escape a first-round exit, losing 11-5.
"Hopefully we're not just happy to be in," this year, Voelker said.
The Quakers will be more than happy if they can pull off the upset. If they do, their reward will be a matchup with either fifth-seeded Syracuse, whom Penn did not face this year, or Harvard, whom Penn lost to on March 25. That game would take place in Stony Brook, N.Y., on May 20.
