Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/28/12
From Press Releases
The Penn men’s lacrosse team makes it 2012 home opener tonight by hosting Lehigh at Franklin Field at 7 p.m.
Tuesday’s game can be viewed online at PennAthletics.com; there is a charge for this service.
Lehighsports.com will be doing a live interactive blog beginning at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday night. Fans are encouraged to submit comments and questions as the game progresses; we will do our best to answer as many questions as possible. To access the live blog, please click here
#17 PENN (0-1) vs. LEHIGH (2-1)
Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012 * 7 p.m.
Philadelphia (Franklin FIeld)
Video: PennAthletics.com (there is a charge for this service)
The Series with Lehigh
The Quakers and the Mountain Hawks have met 39 times previously, with Penn holding a 26-13 advantage in the series. In fact, the Quakers have won 14 of the last 15 meetings, the only hiccup coming in 2006 when Lehigh won 14-8. The most recent matchup came on this exact date in 2007 and was played here at Franklin Field. Penn won the game, 13-12.
About Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks are coming off their first shutout win since 1972, a 13-0 decision over Manhattan on Saturday. David DiMaria and Patrick Corbett had three goals and four points each, while Matthew Poillon had four saves in the blanking. In addition to DiMaria and Corbett, Dan Taylor and Adam Johnston have four goals on this young season. Poillon has a .592 save percentage.
The Mountain Hawks impressed in pitching their first shutout since 1972 on Saturday, topping Manhattan 13-0. It was Lehigh’s first shutout since a 10-0 win over Gettysburg and the first in the NCAA since Apr. 24, 2010 when Stony Brook topped Albany, 15-0. Leading the defense was junior Mike Noone, who had a career-high three caused turnovers while scooping two groundballs to earn honorable mention on the Patriot League weekly honor roll. Junior David DiMaria led the offense with four points via three goals and an assist. It marked his third-career hat trick, which also earned honorable mention recognition from the Patriot League. Freshman Patrick Corbett added three goals, one assist and four groundballs while freshman Matt Poillon made four saves in goal.
Junior face-off specialist Ryan Snyder (Reading native, Duke’s LC) has won 60 percent (27-of-45) this season while sophomore Ryan Buttenbaum (Conestoga) has won 65 percent (11-of-17). Buttenbaum won 6-of-10 Saturday along with a career-high six groundballs.
Lehigh is looking for its second win in the last three meetings against Penn after dropping 13 straight games previously. A win would up the Mountain Hawks’ record to 3-1 for the second straight season after they hadn’t been 3-1 since 2006. Lehigh is looking for its first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since the end of the 2010 season when the squad defeated #9 Villanova, then #19 Lafayette in succession.
About Penn
Penn opened the season with a 12-8 loss at then-No. 10 Duke on Friday night. Seniors Dan Savage and John Conneely scored three goals apiece for the Quakers, while Savage also had two assists. In his first action since 2010, Tim Schwalje had two assists. Ryan Parietti and Drew Belinsky scored Penn’s other goals.
*Of particular note on Friday, Penn went 5-of-9 in man-up situations.
*Brian Feeney was in goal for Penn Friday night and made 11 saves.
*Penn’s 13-game schedule includes nine teams that were listed in the USILA national coaches’ preseason Top 20. Among the opponents: Virginia (#1), Duke and Cornell (tied at #3), North Carolina (#6), and Villanova (#10). It was ranked the toughest schedule in the country.
*Penn finished the 2011 regular season at 8-6, its best overall record since 2006 (10-4), and advanced to the NCAAs for the first time since that 2006 season.
*In Ivy play, Penn’s 4-2 record last year was its best since, you guessed it, 2006. However, the Quakers took second in the standings, behind Cornell. The last time Penn finished second in the Ivies? Try 1989, when the Quakers tied Cornell and Brown for second behind Yale.
*Penn had two players named preseason All-America by Inside Lacrosse, senior long-stick middie Will Koshansky and sophomore defenseman Maxx Meyer.
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