After a fourth-quarter collapse against Drexel last weekend, the Penn men's lacrosse team is looking to rebound this Saturday and "put a beating" on Villanova, according to co-captain Max Mauro.
"It's a cross-town rival," the senior explained. "I'm sure a lot of [our] guys were recruited by Villanova, and they chose this school for a reason."
The Quakers (0-1) have played the Wildcats (1-1) every year of Mauro's college career, winning the last two. But each game was decided by four goals or fewer, with Penn pulling ahead last year by scoring seven of the game's final 10 goals.
"It's gonna be a dogfight. They've got a chip on their shoulders," he said.
The Wildcats opened their season on the road at then-No. 9 Syracuse, where they were routed 21-6. Nova bounced back with a 9-6 home win against Lafayette last Sunday.
The Quakers had trouble in their opener as well, out-shooting the Dragons nearly two-to-one, but letting in five goals in the final period and squandering a three-goal lead.
"I'm still not sure what happened," coach Brian Voelker said.
The Quakers are focusing on their strength: using offensive athleticism to put shots on goal and force goalies to make saves. Their 43 shots last game should put them in good shape against a Villanova squad averaging just under 30 in its first two contests.
When asked why only eight of the Quakers' 43 shots went in last Saturday, Voelker's explanation was simple.
"Drexel has a very good goalie," he said. "But we have to continue to generate offense and put pressure on the other team."
Voelker said that the offensive pressure will go up against a Wildcats team with a tough draw control specialist, a talented goalie and an effective offensive end. Yet Nova is under 50 percent on faceoffs, and its starting goalie only has 14 saves through two games, while giving up 24 goals.
Saturday will also be the Quakers' last home game until March 22.
"We can't afford to put ourselves in an 0-2 hole to start the season," said Mauro. "Obviously with the road stretch coming up, especially spring break going out to Denver, there are [going to be] tough games out there."
And while Penn faces six currently-ranked opponents this year - and Villanova is not one of them - Voelker said that his team will not overlook the Wildcats.
"They have a win under their belt and we don't," he said.
"We only have thirteen games and we can't let any of them slip away."
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