Mano-a-Mano: Repeat for Penn Women’s Lacrosse?

Penn women’s lacrosse currently stands undefeated in the Ivy League with three conference games remaining. We have former senior sports editor Megan Soisson and associate sports editor John Phillips here to debate whether Penn wins the Ivy Crown this season. Megan Soisson: I really can’t see a situation where the women’s lacrosse team doesn’t win the Ivy League. Six years of championships teaches you how to get it done. Of course, it also puts an enormous target on your back, but I think the Quakers can handle it. They’re undefeated so far in Ivy play and definitely hitting their stride. It won’t be easy to beat Dartmouth and Princeton, and then Brown will put up a fight in an attempt to play spoiler. But Karin Brower Corbett is easily one of the best coaches at Penn and she knows how to win. No doubt Penn at least gets a share of the Ivy title. Winning the Ivy League tournament, however, is a different story. John Phillips: I agree wholeheartedly about the Ivy League tournament, as we’ve seen in recent years, but I wouldn’t be so quick to write it off that they’ll take home the Ancient Eight crown outright. The Quakers have proven vulnerable so far this season, needing to go to overtime against opponents that, in years past, Penn would have rolled. But this isn’t one of those teams. This team is more vulnerable than any other from the last six years, and will lose at least one of its next three Ivy games. MS: I agree this is a vulnerable team. But in conversations I’ve had with Corbett, two things have stuck out: 1) The team prides itself on being gritty and fighting and never giving up. We saw it in wins against Vanderbilt and Cornell. Though in both of those games Penn relinquished big second-half lead, the Quakers found a way to win. Which brings me to my next point… 2) Corbett’s had to instill a new attitude in her team. The current players had never lost to Drexel before this season, and they certainly had never started out 0-3. That’s cause for a change in attitude, especially in practice. Corbett said she was considering punishment for sloppy play at practice — likely increased sprints — and since then, they’ve been better. And John, they went to overtime against Vanderbilt, a solid non-league team, and Cornell, who was ranked No. 10 at the time. I don’t think you could say they would have steamrolled those same teams. JP: I agree that this is a gritty team, and everything that I’ve heard makes me root that their grit wins out. But being gritty is just another way of saying that they can’t play a complete game. Penn should have put those Cornell and Vanderbilt games away early. They said so themselves after those games. And the reason they haven’t closed is because they don’t have that one player who can put a team on her back. MS: That’s fair, John — they don’t have one player who can put the team on her back. Erin Brennan was the go-to last year, but they’ve had plenty of time to figure things out without her. And Lucy Ferguson is a force in the cage who’s been really coming into her own as a leader on defense. I think the Quakers are beginning to peak right now and I believe they’ll do what they need to do in order to win another championship, even if it’s shared. JP: They’ve had plenty of time to figure things out, and yet there is still no consistency in their offense. What happens when they’re down late in a close game? Who gets the ball then? Verdict: You’re the head honcho until someone takes the title away from you and Penn women’s lax has ruled over the Ivy League for a long time. This one goes to Megan.