Harvard University has provided a crucial stepping stone to many of this nation’s most important leaders and greatest minds.
And that’s exactly what coach Mike Murphy and the No. 15 Penn men’s lacrosse team (5-4, 2-2 Ivy) are hoping to use it for Saturday afternoon when they head to Cambridge to take on the Crimson (7-4, 1-2).
“If we can get this game,” Murphy said, “we improve our chances of making the postseason dramatically.”
The Quakers are currently tied for second in the Ancient Eight with Yale — a win over the Crimson would make them the sole owners of the second spot behind No. 5 Cornell, who just upset No. 1 Syracuse.
But this won’t be an easy passage for the Red and Blue to cross.
Harvard has looked terrific when playing at home, posting a 5-1 record and taking Cornell down to the wire.
Add Penn’s 0-4 road record, and it appears that the conditions favor the Crimson.
But Murphy is quick to point out the Quakers are focusing on their opponent, not where they will be playing.
“The ‘road game’ piece of it isn’t really an issue,” Murphy said. “We’re playing on a 110-yard field, it’s made of Sprinturf just like [the one at Franklin Field].”
This is not to say the Quakers don’t expect a stern test from the Crimson, just that location won’t make a difference.
The Red and Blue are more worried about what Harvard can do on offense.
Five Crimson players have recorded at least 13 goals so far this season.
Dean Gibbons — a second-team all-Ivy attack last season — has 21 goals and 19 assists for an impressive 40 points, a number far above the 23 points that team-leading senior Corey Winkoff has racked up for Penn.
Throw in the 25 goals of junior midfield Jeff Cohen, and it’s not surprising that Harvard’s attack is what is attacking Murphy’s mind.
“Harvard’s a very good team — very explosive on offense,” Murphy said.
And this statement holds true no matter where the game is played.
So the Quakers will have to turn in a more consistent effort than they did in last week’s 13-12 loss at Brown if they hope to break their winless road streak.
“Any given day, someone can be beaten,” senior midfield Al Kohart said in reference to the loss at Brown. “We didn’t show up for a whole 60 minutes.”
Showing up for the whole 60 minutes — giving a uniformly high effort for the entire game — is obviously easier said than done.
But Murphy and his coaching staff have ways of lighting a fire underneath their players.
And in a surprisingly Pavlovian way.
Players spent the last 20 minutes or so of Wednesday’s practice doing sprints in the rain.
“We just did some punishment running [for the Brown loss] — it’s not fun,” Kohart said after completing the sprints. “It’s this bad taste in our mouth, and I think we have to take that as a little reminder and use it as energy for this week.”
A win this Saturday would be the Listerine the Quakers need to wash out that bad taste.
