After a difficult loss at Princeton last week, the men’s lacrosse team hosted Penn Saturday, hoping to build momentum toward the second half of conference play. The Bears (5-4, 2-1 Ivy) did just that, overcoming an early 5-1 deficit to take an 11-8 victory over the Quakers (4-5, 1-3). First-year goalie Phil Goss ’20 was a standout in the win, notching a career-high 19 saves.
“We had a great week of practice with high intensity,” said veteran midfielder Steve Hudak ’18. “It definitely translated into the game.”
Penn started off the scoring, with Jack Ulrich finding the back of the net with 5:02 left in the first quarter. Brown took over possession, but could not respond despite five shot attempts. With four seconds remaining, Penn notched another goal to take a 2-0 lead.
Less than a minute into the second quarter, Jake Miller ’18 put the Bears on the scoreboard, capitalizing on a rare goal-scoring opportunity as a defenseman.
But Penn responded with an offensive surge. Just 10 seconds later, the Quakers scored to take back the momentum and bring the score to 3-1. Over the next three minutes, Penn notched two more goals, capping a 3-0 run and taking a 5-1 lead.
“We know what we’re capable of and how quickly we can score goals,” Hudak said. “So we stayed poised and collected and made little plays to get out of that hole.”
The Bears regrouped after team co-captain Dylan Molloy ’17 scored two goals in under a minute — his 26th and 27th of the season — to swing the momentum back in Bruno’s favor. Then, midfielder Michael Panepinto ’19 found the back of the net off an assist from veteran Matt Graham ’17 to cut Penn’s lead to one at 5-4.
The Bears continued to roll as the second quarter came to a close. Rookie attackman Luke McCaleb ’20, midfielder Ted Ottens ’17.5 and Panepinto all scored over the next four minutes to cap a 6-0 run and give the Bears a 7-5 lead going into halftime.
“There was good energy at halftime,” Hudak said. “We knew what we needed to do to finish the game.”
The Quakers rallied back, with goals at 13:14 and 11:47 in the third stanza to tie the game at seven. But Brown did not back down. With 5:58 remaining, attackman Jackson Newsome ’19 found the back of the net off an assist from Graham to put Bruno back on top, 8-7. Brown continued its offensive surge, scoring two more to take a 10-7 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the teams exchanged blows. The Bears started off the quarter with another goal by Newsome — his fourth of the season — at 10:09 to cap a 4-0 run. The Quakers responded with a goal at 1:09, but it was too late. The Bears held the 11-8 lead as the clock dwindled to secure the win.
“It was a huge win,” Hudak said. “Any Ivy win is great.”
Ottens secured a game-high eight ground balls and won 16 of 23 face-offs for the Bears. Overall, Brown held advantages in shots, ground balls and clears, while committing fewer turnovers.
“Phil had a great week of practice and his hard work paid off in the game,” Hudak said. “He really stood on his head.”
With the win, Brown improves to 2-1 in conference play. The Bears also move into a tie with Princeton for second place in the Ivy League standings. Yale, who remains undefeated in conference games, holds the number one spot.
Bruno will continue its season with a pivotal matchup against the Bulldogs (7-3, 4-0) in New Haven Saturday. With a win against Yale — the reigning conference champions — the Bears would take over the top spot in the Ivy League. Last year, the Bears topped the No.1 ranked Bulldogs 14-12 at home.
“We need another great week of practice,” Hudak said. “Doing the little things right will lead to success.”
