After hitting double-digits in scoring in last week's loss to Towson, the men's lacrosse team appears to have put its offensive woes behind it.
The only problem: It's about to face the nation's fourth-best defensive team.
Penn (5-7, 3-3 Ivy) will look to end its disappointing season on a high note when it hosts No. 18 Army tomorrow. It won't be easy. The Black Knights (9-5) will be highly motivated - they're on the NCAA tournament bubble - while the Quakers' chief motivation is to end their four-game losing skid before season's end.
"I'm one of those guys who thinks you don't learn a lot from losing. It's much better to win, I feel much better; my wife knows I'm in a much better mood," head coach Brian Voelker said.
The strong Army defense starts with senior goalkeeper Adam Fullerton, the Black Knights' all-time saves leader. His .632 save percentage and 6.86 goals-against average are fourth and seventh, respectively, in the country.
The Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year's season has placed him among 22 nominees for the Tewaaraton Trophy and 10 finalists for the Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award. Both awards are given to the nation's top men's lacrosse player.
The Quakers have struggled offensively against goalies both good and bad, so Fullerton's resume isn't concerning Voelker very much.
"We make them all look good, so it doesn't really matter," he said. "He's not Superman. He'll make some saves but if we put the ball in good spots, the thing goes in."
Penn will need to stay disciplined. While penalties have not been a major problem for the Quakers - they have taken the second fewest in the Ivy league - the Black Knights have a lethal power play. They have converted on 16 of 38 man-up chances (42.1 percent), better than any Ivy team and in Division I's top 15.
And the Black Knights will come in with more to play for than the Quakers. After entering the Patriot League tournament as the No. 1 seed, they were upset in the semifinals last week by Bucknell. Colgate, the tournament's three-seed, took the conference's automatic bid.
Thus, Army may find itself on the outside looking in on the NCAA tournament, but a loss to Penn assuredly ends any of its at-large chances. Voelker hopes that his squad can find some satisfaction in playing spoiler.
He also knows that, for a team losing only five of 41 players, going out on a positive note could do wonders for next season.
And for those outgoing seniors, among them captain Max Mauro, ending their careers victorious would be an ideal send-off.
Going out with a win "means everything in the world to me," Mauro said. "Nothing would make me happier than going out with a win and that's what we're going to do."
