Men's lacrosse can't win the Ivy League tomorrow at Brown, but the opportunity for an upset is still very much in the cards - again.
After nearly toppling No. 2 Princeton Tuesday at home, the Quakers (2-7, 1-4 Ivy) will make a quick turnaround, heading to Providence, R.I., tomorrow to face the No. 11 Bears (9-1, 2-0).
The heartbreaking overtime loss to the Tigers was a big blow to a struggling squad trying to play spoiler. However, moving forward with the confidence of nearly beating one of the best teams in the nation could put Penn in the win column a couple more times this season, starting this weekend.
This will be no small task, though, as the Bears are a balanced group with one of the league's better offenses, and they haven't lost a game since Feb. 28.
Sophomore Andrew Feinberg leads a Brown attack that averages almost 12 goals per game.
The lefty out of Owings Mills, Md., solidified himself as a scoring threat last season and has continued to pound the back of net, with 28 goals and 40 points this year to lead his team.
He is third in the conference in goals per game (2.8), and second in points per game with an even four.
"Feinberg is one of the smartest off-ball players I've seen in a long time," Penn coach Brian Voelker said. "He's not the guy that's initiating the offense, but he's the guy that's putting the exclamation point on it, and he does it really well."
Helping their teammate with scoring are attackmen Thomas Muldoon and Kyle Hollingsworth, who have deposited 21 and 15 goals, respectively.
A Quakers' defensive effort like Tuesday's is needed to keep the game close. And another strong showing by Justin Lynch in the faceoff X could give the Red and Blue enough offensive opportunities to pull the upset.
To do so, the team will again lean on its upperclassmen, who have come on strong in the last several contests. Leading the pack has been senior co-captain Craig Andrzejewski, who is tied for sixth in the Ancient Eight with 2.12 goals per game.
Overall, the senior class has scored 13 of the team's last 18 goals, and red hot senior Drew Collins now has nine scores in his last four contests.
But after putting the ball past Princeton goalkeeper Tyler Fiorito an impressive nine times, the Quakers' job only gets harder when visiting Providence.
The Red and Blue will face senior Jordan Burke, a former Ivy League Player of the Year, whose 7.71 goals against average ranks 14th in the nation.
Burke held the Quakers to just five goals last year, but Andrzejewski remains confident about tomorrow's matchup.
"I don't think we shot the ball well on him last year," he said. "If we take good shots from 10 yards and in and score the ones in the crease we need to score, we'll be fine."
Voelker agrees, but realizes anything can happen with a talented keeper like Burke.
"Jordan's probably a first-team All-American," Voelker said. "If you let a guy like that get in your head, you're going to have a long day."
In the seniors' last Ivy contest, a win would be the perfect way to go out. Inspired play must continue for the Quakers to earn the 'W', which the coach knows is easier said than done.
"Just because we played pretty well on Tuesday, doesn't mean we're going to do it on Saturday," Voelker said. "We've got to go up there and do everything we can to win a game: scratch, claw, fight."
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