The No. 19 men's lacrosse team, now 4-3 on the season, will face 1-9 University of Pennsylvania Saturday, hoping to improve to 2-1 in Ivy League play. Penn is currently winless in the Ivies, having earned its only win against the Air Force Academy on March 10.
The Penn game is a good opportunity for the Bears to continue their success after Tuesday's 12-3 victory over Harvard, which occurred two days after they dropped their Ivy opener to Yale when their stirring fourth quarter rally fell one goal short.
The Harvard match illustrated numerous strong points that the Bears want to turn to their advantage against the Quakers.
The offense established its dominance on Tuesday, controlling the ball expertly during its possessions and tiring the Harvard defense. Brown's passing expertise was best illustrated by the fact that a different player scored each of the team's first seven goals. This depth of offense will be critical against Penn, whose defensive unit allows an average of only 9.3 goals per game.
"Penn is one of the better defensive teams in the country, though their record doesn't show it," said Head Coach Scott Nelson.
Fortunately the Bears' offense has begun to jell, settling into its desired mode of play. Co-captain Chazz Woodson '05, who leads the Bears in scoring with 15 goals, praised the versatility and depth of the offense. "(Against Harvard), everyone got touches ... and the individual goals came within the flow of the offense," Woodson said.
The other attackmen, Dave Madeira '07 and Alex Buckley '07, make up a large part of the scoring threat. "(They) are getting hot," Woodson said, "particularly because they are two guys that handle the ball as well as anyone in the country and Dave shoots the ball as well as anyone (in collegiate lacrosse)."
Midfielder Kyle Wailes '06 has proven indispensable to the Bears, leading the team in points with 18 assists and 4 goals scored. His passing within the offensive scheme should pose problems for Penn.
The offense is trying to become more balanced in the weeks to come, spreading the ball around and wearing down defenses. "We want to take good shots and be the type of team where everyone contributes," Nelson said.
However, Woodson also stressed the power of the individual players.
The scouting report will determine "if there's (any one defender) we're going to try to exploit," Woodson said, "but with the right match-up at the right time," Brown's players are all individual scoring threats.
The defense also wants to deny the Quakers with consistent play, rather than tailoring their scheme to Penn's attack.
"We have an excellent one-on-one defense, and we are a great sliding defense," said defender and co-captain Dan Spinosa '05. Bruno's confident sliding could be potentially disastrous to the Penn offense, which relies on one-on-one match-ups to produce goals. Half of the Quakers' 66 goals this season have been unassisted.
"Even when someone gets by (his man), there's a lot of help, so they don't get to the cage," Spinosa said. "So if Penn doesn't find the open man they're going to be in trouble."
The Bears' offense also factors heavily into the play of the defense. By controlling the ball and grinding down the defense, particularly the opposing midfielders, the offense gives the defense time to rest and regroup. When the opponent does get the ball, Brown's defense makes easier stops.
Against Penn, the Bears will look to play mentally perfect defense. "The defense can't foul this weekend, and when Penn tries to hold the ball, we need to not over-commit out of frustration," Nelson said.
The defense recently struggled with slides against Yale, which, in part, allowed Yale to score nine goals in the first half. When the sliding improved in the second half, the Bulldogs only found the cage three times.
Saturday's action begins at 1 p.m. on Stevenson field.
