Men's Lacrosse Opens 2012 at Duke

PHILADELPHIA - The Penn men's lacrosse team goes into the 2012 season with a lot of confidence from last year, when the Quakers finished in second place in the Ivy League and advanced to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2006. Once again, Head Coach Mike Murphy throws the Red and Blue right into the fire, as they travel to Durham, N.C., to face Duke. The Blue Devils were an NCAA semifinalist a year ago, and will be looking to exact some revenge after falling to the Quakers 7-3 last year in Philadelphia.

Friday's game can be viewed online at PennAthletics.com; there is a charge for this service.

GAME 1
#17 PENN (0-0) at #10 DUKE (1-1)
Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 * 7 p.m.
Durham, N.C. (Koskinen Stadium)
Video: PennAthletics.com (there is a charge for this service)

Click here for Live Stats!

The Series with Duke
The Quakers and the Blue Devils are meeting for the fifth time in history, with Penn holding a 3-1 lead in the series. Last year at Franklin Field, Penn downed Duke 7-3; the previous season, it was the Blue Devils downing the Quakers, 16-11, in Durham.
3/14/1970 - Penn 5, at Duke 3
3/18/71 - Penn 8, at Duke 7 (2ot)
2/27/2010 - at Duke 16, Penn 11
2/26/11 - at Penn 7, Duke 3

About Duke
The Blue Devils (1-1) opened the season with a 16-8 win over Rutgers, but last weekend they were tripped up by Notre Dame, 7-3. Robert Rotanz leads Duke in scoring, with four goals, while David Lawson has three. Four other players have two goals. Jordan Wolf has three of Duke's four assists on their 19 goals so far this season. In goal, Dan Wigrizer has started both games; he has a 7.18 goals-against average and a .611 save percentage.

About Penn...
*Penn's 13-game schedule this season 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 Ivy standings? 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.

*Koshansky, who finished third nationally last year in caused turnovers per game, also was drafted by Major League Lacrosse's Boston Cannons prior to the season; he will be eligible to join the Cannons once this season is over.

*Meyer finished 13th nationally in caused turnovers per game, but missed the last three games after breaking his ankle against Dartmouth.

*Senior midfielder Dan Savage is on the original Tewaaraton Award Watch List, which was released last week. The Tewaaraton Award is presented each year to the nation's top player in both men's and women's lacrosse.

*Penn lost its top two scorers from a year ago, Corey Winkoff (35 points) and Al Kohart (29). Senior middie John Conneely is the leading returning scorer, with 20 points (13g, 7a), while Savage is the leading returning goalscorer with 16.

*Junior Rob Fitzpatrick had 14 goals and five assists last year for 19 points, tying for fourth on the team in scoring with Savage.

*Sophomore Drew Belinsky (10-4--14) and junior Ryan Parietti (7-4--11) are the other double-digit point scorers from a year ago.

*In addition to Koshansky, expect to see junior Anthony Santomo and sophomore Alex Blonsky on close defense.

*In goal, Brian Feeney played all but 15 minutes last year as a freshman. He had a .494 save percentage and an 8.22 goals-against average.

*Brian's twin brother Danny Feeney was Penn's top face-off man a year ago; he had a .437 win percentage on 268 draws. Expect freshman Joe McCallion to see time on the X, as well.