Over the weekend, the men’s lacrosse team (2-5, 0-1 Ivy) came up short in a hard-fought 9-8 loss against No. 21 Penn (4-4, 1-0 Ivy). Saturday’s match-up marked Brown’s first Ivy League game of the season.
Marcus Wertheim ’26 led the charge for the Bears with four goals. Despite a strong offensive effort overall, Brown’s momentum was stalled by an outstanding performance by Penn’s goalie.
“I was really proud of the way the guys competed,” Coach Jon Torpey wrote in an email to The Herald. “Our biggest goal for the team this year is to get better every single day, and we know that if we can do that individually and as a team we will be in a very good position by the end of the season.”
On Saturday, the teams traded goals early. Though Penn drew first blood, Aidan McLane ’25 equalized for Bruno less than five minutes into the first quarter. After the teams exchanged another pair of scores, the Quakers’ Ben Smith caught fire. Netting three straight goals, Smith helped Penn claim a 5-2 lead — their largest lead of the game — early in the second period.
Down by three, the Bears needed a star to dig them out of their hole, and Wertheim shone brighter than any other. He scored his first goal of the game five minutes into the quarter, and assisted Felix Rockefeller ’27 just three minutes later, cutting the deficit to one. Before the half, Wertheim struck once more. But despite Bruno’s relentless offensive pursuit, Penn tacked on two more goals, sending the Bears into the break trailing 7-5.
The third quarter was a gritty defensive battle, with each team scoring just once. Entering the final period, Penn maintained their two-goal lead.
For the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, both teams went scoreless. But Bruno refused to back down, and, aided by Wertheim’s third goal of the afternoon, the Bears pulled within one yet again.
Though Brown’s hopes were momentarily dashed as Penn responded with a goal of their own, Wertheim scored a dramatic fourth goal in the final minute of the game to keep the Bears in the game. Twelve seconds later, he tried one final shot, but Penn’s goalie Emmet Carroll came up with a crucial save as the buzzer sounded.
By the end of the game, Bruno dominated the stat sheet, out-shooting Penn 38-31 and winning 15 of 21 faceoffs. But the Bears failed to capitalize on those advantages, as multiple saves by Carroll held Bruno to only eight goals.
“I thought our execution was a bit off at times and not up to our standards offensively, defensively and in the middle third of the field,” Torpey wrote.
But with the team struggling to score, Wertheim took matters into his own hands.“The key to my performance was my teammates doing their job extremely well,” he explained. “The defense getting stops and our faceoff unit getting us the ball allowed the offense to create open looks that we were able to finish.”
Standing out alongside Wertheim were Matteo Corsi ’25 — who tallied a goal and an assist — as well as McLane, Rockefeller and Ennis Udo ’28, each of whom added one goal apiece.
Though the Bears fell short in their season opener, Wertheim is optimistic that the team will improve. “Penn has one of the best defenses and goalies in the country, so we know we are capable of much more moving forward,” he wrote.
After a loss to Villanova University on Monday, the Bears are looking to turn things around. Torpey stressed that to get back on track, the team needs to “continue to get better, make adjustments and execute at a high level against some really good opponents.”
“I’d really love to see us continue to win our matchups offensively and defensively and provide support when necessary,” he wrote. Torpey also wants to see the team improve their shot selection, contest every attempt and maintain a strong presence in the middle third of the field.
The Bears will be on the road again this weekend as they take on University of Massachusetts at Amherst on Saturday. The game is scheduled for 12 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Gus Bailey is a senior staff writer covering the sports beat. He is a sophomore studying applied math-economics. His interests include data analytics, marketing, social media and of course, sports.
