M. Lax | The silver lining to M. Lax's campaign

Senior midfield Drew Collins and the Penn men's lacrosse team dare to dream about the success they could and should have had this season.

Results like Saturday's 7-6 win over No. 11 Brown in Providence, R.I., just add fuel to that imaginary fire.

"It kind of showed today and a little bit on Tuesday [in a 10-9 loss to No. 2 Princeton]," Collins said, "what we could've been."

What they could have been: a team that can beat teams like the Bears (9-2, 2-1 Ivy) and take a team like the Tigers (10-1, 3-0) to overtime.

What they are: a 3-7 disappointment that was only able to muster two conference wins in six tries.

And yet, Penn's three remaining games mean three more opportunities to show that it can be a force next year.

"Hopefully, the guys that are going to come back next year are going to learn some things from this [season]," coach Brian Voelker said. "But the bottom line is, we're focusing on winning some games."

If the Quakers play like they did Saturday, that is a definite possibility.

Sophomore attack Morgan Griff got the Quakers on the board early, scoring within the game's first four minutes.

The Quakers and Bears held fairly even throughout the rest of the game, but Penn was able to maintain its advantage.

The Red and Blue took a 3-2 lead into halftime and a 5-3 edge into the fourth quarter.

That's when things got interesting.

The Bears turned the tables, scoring two unanswered goals to tie the game and tie up the Quakers' stomachs.

But, like Collins knew they could, the Red and Blue put in two more of their own to take a 7-5 advantage. They would relinquish just one more inconsequential goal to senior midfield Reade Seligmann.

Duplicating their performance may not be the simplest task in the Quakers' next contest against No. 12 Maryland.

But a second straight upset is not out of the question.

"We've lost some tough games," Collins said. "And we've realized that [Maryland is] a good team but we're talented enough to beat them."

A good deal of that talent resides in the team's attack.

Senior Alex Weber exploded for three goals against the Bears, while Griff showed that the future may well be bright with two goals of his own and an assist.

"Morgan had a real good game," Voelker said. He "kept us in it early."

Throw in Collins' goal and assist and the Red and Blue proved that they have the depth to overcome their leading scorer, senior Craig Andrzejewski, going scoreless.

But the defense also had a stellar performance.

This team that gave up at least 14 goals on four occasions -- and allowed an astonishing 21 to No. 3 Cornell - showed a more cohesive team defense en route to matching a season low for goals allowed.

A big part of that revamped 'D' was goaltender Joe Hegener, who recorded 11 saves on 29 Brown shots. The Bears average 11.1 goals and 35.8 shots per game.

To Hegener, these statistics indicate that Penn is ready to start bringing Collins' dream to fruition.

"It's pretty reassuring," the freshman from San Diego said, "that our defense as a whole . when it plays to its potential can take a high-powered offense."

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