Men's Lacrosse Hosts Local Rival Saint Joseph's

PHILADELPHIA - Coming off a sensational performance to start the 2013 season, a 14-9 win over Duke, the University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team has a quick turnaround as local rival Saint Joseph's comes to Franklin Field Tuesday night to face off with the Quakers. Start time at Franklin Field is scheduled for 7 p.m.

GAME 2 - PENN (1-0) vs. SAINT JOSEPH'S (2-1)
Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 * 7 p.m.
Franklin Field (Philadelphia)
TV: PennAthletics.com (there is a charge for this service)

Click here for Live Stats!

The Series with SJU
This marks the 10th meeting between the Quakers and the Hawks in men's lacrosse; Penn has won each of the previous nine matchups. These two teams have played each other each of the last three years, with Penn winning 16-5 in 2010 at Franklin Field; 13-5 two years ago at SJU; and 9-5 last year, again on Hawk Hill.

About Saint Joseph's
The Hawks (2-1) dropped their season opener at nationally ranked Lehigh, but have rebounded with wins over High Point and VMI. Ryan McGee leads Saint Joseph's in scoring, with seven points (4g, 3a), while Matthew Franchak and Michael Dougherty have scored three goals apiece. In goal, Dustin Keen has a .569 save percentage and an 8.00 goals-against average.

Penn in the Independence Classic
For the second straight season, Penn will participate in one of Inside Lacrosse's premium events. This year, it is the inaugural Whitman's Sampler Independence Classic which will be held Saturday, March 9 at PPL Park in Chester (home of Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union). The Quakers will face off with regional rival Villanova at 2:30, sandwiched between games pitting Syracuse against St. John's (noon) and Penn State against Lehigh (5 p.m.).
     Ticket prices to the Whitman's Sampler Independence Classic are $45 for club seats; $35 for midfield reserved seats; $25 for sideline reserved locations; $20 for groups of 10 or more; and $15 for groups of 100 or more. Parking can also be purchased in advance for $15.
     Fans can call ComcastTix at 800-298-4200, visit PhiladelphiaUnion.com or IndependenceClassic.com to get the latest news on the event and ticket details.

About Penn
*Following its win on Friday night, Penn is ranked 14th in this week's USILA national coaches poll and 16th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll. Both were released Monday afternoon.

*Penn's win on Friday night was its second against Duke all-time; the other also came at Franklin Field, two years ago.

*When these two teams played at Franklin Field in 2011, the final score was 7-3; on Friday night, the teams had combined for more goals before the first quarter was over (it ended with Penn up, 6-5).

*The win was Penn's first over a ranked opponent since March 6 of last season, when the Quakers defeated then-No. 8 North Carolina, 10-6.

*Penn scored 14 goals, its best offensive output since April 3, 2010 when the Quakers lost to Yale, 16-14.

*Senior Tim Schwalje was Penn's leading returning scorer, and he certainly got started with a bang on Friday night with a career-high seven points (3g, 4a) against the Blue Devils. On Monday, he was named the co-Ivy League Player of the Week along with Cornell attackman Rob Pannell.

*Schwalje has a point in 13 straight games after scoring in every game last season.

*Sophomore Isaac Bock scored once last season; he had four on Friday night, while also adding an assist.

*In his collegiate debut, freshman Nick Doktor scored twice; in fact, in his first quarter as a collegian he scored twice.

*After a stellar freshman campaign in 2011, Drew Belinsky broke his ankle prior to his sophomore season and never seemed to fully get over it. On Friday night, though, the junior recorded a goal and an assist.

*Senior Ryan Parietti joined Belinsky in both the goal and assist categories, with one apiece; he had 16 goals and 20 points last season, good for fourth on the team in both categories, while Belinsky had 11 points (6g, 5a).

*Classmate Zack Losco also scored a goal as he made the jump to the first midfield unit for this season.

*Senior defenseman Anthony Santomo also scored on Friday night, a long-stick goal; it was the captain's first collegiate goal. (He is joined as a captain by classmates Schwalje and Brendan Engelke, and junior Maxx Meyer.)

*Junior Danny Feeney took a majority of the faceoffs for Penn on Friday (19 of 26), but sophomore Joe McCallion had a .571 win percentage in the seven he took.

*In goal, junior Brian Feeney struggled in the first quarter Friday (3 saves, 5 goals allowed) but responded the rest of the way (12 saves, goals allowed). Feeney has been Penn's No. 1 almost his entire career, and last year he had a 9.44 goals-against average and a .487 save percentage.

*Penn welcomes two former Quaker football players to the roster this season, seniors Dave Twamley and C.J. Mooney. Both players were starters on defense for the Ivy League champs this fall -- in fact, they won three rings during their tenure on the gridiron -- and Twamley was a second-team All-Ivy recipient. Twamley saw action in Friday's win over Duke.