PHILADELPHIA – With two games remaining in the Ivy League season, No. 6/6 Penn (6-3, 4-0 Ivy) heads to Harvard (5-5, 1-2 Ivy) on Saturday (1 p.m.) with a chance to clinch the program's first Ivy League championship since 1988.
 
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Rising In The Rankings
The Quakers have risen higher than any team in the USILA Coaches Poll this season, climbing to No. 6 this week after starting the season unranked. The Quakers are also climbing in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, sitting at No. 6 this week after starting the season No. 23.
 
Down Go The Champs
Penn's 13-12 win over Yale in triple overtime ended a seven-game losing streak to the Bulldogs for the Quakers dating back to 2015. Penn's seniors had not beaten Yale until March 30, falling twice in each of the previous two seasons – including in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals the last three years. The win over the defending national champions was just the second all-time by the Quakers, the other coming in 2011 against Duke.
 
4-0
The Quakers are 4-0 to start an Ivy League season for the first time since 1984. That Penn team would go on to finish 6-0 in the Ivies and advance to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Streaking Into April
Penn's six-game winning streak is its longest since an eight-game run in 2014 as the Quakers worked their way to a NCAA Tournament appearance. Only Virginia (8) has won more games in a row than the Quakers. Penn's four-game winning streak inside the Ivy League is the third-longest active streak in the country, trailing only Loyola and Richmond who've each won 11 conference games in a row.
 
All-Time Series
Saturday marks the 89th all-time meeting between Penn and Harvard in men's lacrosse. The Quakers are 42-44 all-time against Harvard with a pair of ties. Penn is 9-2 against the Crimson under Mike Murphy, with wins in six consecutive meetings.
 
Mike Murphy vs. Ranked Opponents
Mike Murphy is 20-45 all-time against USILA Top-20 opponents following Penn's 13-12 (3OT) win over No. 2 Yale. The Red and Blue have played six teams ranked in the USILA Coaches Poll this season – each ranked inside the Top-11. The Quakers are 3-3 against Top-20 opponents this season, with wins over the Bulldogs, No. 8 Cornell and No. 11 Villanova.
 
Simon Says…
Few have been more reliable over a playing career than Simon Mathias. In 52 career games played, Mathias has 100 goals and 60 assists for 160 points – an average of 3.1 points-per-game. He ranks second among active Division I players with a 52-game point streak and is tied for No. 1 among active players with a 29-game goal scoring streak. His 100 career goals are No. 5 all-time at Penn – one away from tying for No. 4. His 160 career points are No. 8 all-time by a Quaker – three away from tying for the No. 7 spot on Penn's all-time list.
 
The Gold Standard
Adam Goldner leads Penn with 33 goals this season, already surpassing his single-season high of 28 last season. His 33 goals in a season are tied for No. 7 all-time by a Quaker, he's 10 away from tying John Shoemaker (1987) for the top spot. He has scored multiple goals in all nine games this season, and his 3.7 goals per game are No. 1 in the Ivy League and No. 3 among all Division I players. In his four Ivy League games this season, Goldner has 17 goals and 19 total points. At Cornell, Goldner scored four times – including the game-winner with 17.9 seconds remaining in regulation.
 
Gallagher's Greatest Hits
A 21-for-27 debut showed signs of what Kyle Gallagher can bring to the X for the Quakers in his first year with the team following his transfer from Hofstra. Through nine games, Gallagher is 147-for-246, ranking No. 2 in the Ivy League and No. 20 in the country in faceoff winning percentage (.598). Gallagher has won 20+ faceoffs three times this season, and was he won 14-of-29 against Yale's TD Ierlan – the NCAA record holder for faceoff wins in a season. Gallagher's 10.2 groundballs per game is also No. 2 in the Ivy League and is No. 4 in the country.
 
Relying On Reed
Senior Reed Junkin has played in 52 career games in goal, manning the cage for over 3,120 minutes. The 2016 second-team All-Ivy selection and Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Year alongside teammate Simon Mathias, Junkin has earned four career Ivy League Player of the Week honors – his latest coming after a 22-save day against Yale. He enters this weekend with a .533 save percentage, with 122 saves made to 107 goals allowed. He has 10+ saves in eight of nine games this season and ranks No. 2 in the Ivy League and No. 8 in the country in saves per game with 13.6.
 
Sam The Man
Freshman Sam Handley has been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week three times this season, including after the Yale win where he scored the game-winner in the third overtime and last weekend following a six-point game at Brown. He leads Penn with 38 points and 21 assists, while his 17 goals are No. 2 on the Quakers. Handley's 2.3 assists per game rank No. 2 among freshmen in the country, and his 4.2 points per game are also No. 2 among freshmen in the nation. Handley is closing in on Penn's record for points in a season by a freshman, he is four behind John Ward who had 42 points in 1995.
 
On The Mark
Junior defender Mark Evanchick has developed into one of the Ivy League's premier defenders. After appearing in just three games as a freshman, Evanchick started all 15 games at close defense last season and often drew the assignment of the opposing team's top offensive threat. He finished with eight caused turnovers and 19 ground balls last season. He has three caused turnovers and nine ground balls this season. Three weeks ago, he held Princeton's Michael Sowers to a goal and two assists. Two weeks ago, his caused turnover with just over 1:00 to play in a tie game sent Penn in transition downfield towards its eventual game-winning goal at Cornell.
 
All Clear
The Quakers are 166-for-193 on clearing attempts this season. Penn's .860 clearing percentage is No. 2 in the Ivy League.
 
Offensive Explosion
The Quakers have scored 123 goals through nine games this season, ranking No. 3 in the Ivy League and No. 7 in the country in Scoring Offense at 13.7 goals per game. Penn has scored 12+ goals in eight of nine games, and the Quakers are averaging 15.0 goals per game over their five-game winning streak.
 
Man-Up Momentum
Penn is 13-for-32 on the man-up this season, No. 2 in the Ivy League and No. 15 in the country in man-up percentage. The Quakers had 12 man-up goals all of last season.
 
Players Of The Week
Five Quakers have earned Ivy League weekly awards this season.
March 25 – Tyler Dunn (Player of the Week), Sam Handley (Rookie of the Week)
April 1 – Reed Junkin (Player of the Week), Sam Handley (Rookie of the Week)
April 8 – Sam Handley (Rookie of the Week)
 
Tewaaraton Watch
Simon Mathias was named to the Watch List for the 2019 Tewaaraton Award presented to the nation's top player. This marks the second season in a row he has been named to the Watch List.
 
Fresh Faces Gain Recognition
A pair of Penn rookies earned spots on Inside Lacrosse's Top-25 Freshmen List. Sam Handley has 15 goals and 16 assists, landing as the No. 4 freshman in the country according to IL. Classmate BJ Farrare has seven caused turnovers, 13 ground balls, three goals and two assists as a long-stick midfielder to slot in at No. 21.
 
Best In The City!
The Quakers took care of business inside the City of Brotherly Love to start March, dispatching No. 11 Villanova (13-11) and Saint Joseph's (13-6) to sweep through the first Philly 4 Classic. Adam Goldner had six goals over the two games, while Sam Handley had four goals and seven assists.
 
Trio Of All-Ivy Players Return
The Quakers return three All-Ivy selections from 2018, led first-team All-Ivy defender Mark Evanchick. He is joined by senior attackman Simon Mathias (second-team All-Ivy) and senior midfielder Tyler Dunn (honorable mention All-Ivy) as returning all-league selections.
 
Back For More
Seven of Penn's starters from last season return, including six who started 10+ games. Senior goalkeeper Reed Junkin has made 50 career starts in goal, while Mathias has 50 career starts on attack. Overall, 20 players who played in at least half of Penn's 15 games last season return for 2019.
 
Concerning The Crimson …
Harvard enters the week with a 5-5 record and are 1-2 in the Ivy League … A 19-11 loss to No. 12 Cornell last weekend snapped a three-game winning streak for Harvard … Goalkeeper Kyle Mullin has kept the Crimson afloat this season, he leads the Ivy League in saves per game (15.6) and save percentage (.565) … He ranks No. 2 in the country in saves per game and No. 11 in save percentage … Despite his work, Harvard still ranks No. 53 out of 73 teams in Scoring Defense, allowing 12.3 goals per game … Junior Kyle Anderson leads the Crimson with 21 goals and 31 points … Beau Botkiss has 16 caused turnovers, one of three defenders with 10+ CTs.