ALBANY, N.Y. – Utilizing five unanswered goals at the end of the first half, the No. 12 University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team out-scored UAlbany, 6-3, in the final 30 minutes to come from behind after trailing 8-3 and earn a 14-11 victory in its final game of the regular season.
 
Senior middie Sam Handley put together a career performance with his career-high tying six goals and two assists for a season-high eight points to pace the Quakers' offensive output.
 
The victory guarantees Penn's eligibility for the NCAA Tournament, needing a win over UAlbany to maintain at least a .500 record heading into the postseason. The Quakers improve to 7-5 overall, while the Great Danes fall to 5-8.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn ups its winning streak to a season-best three straight games, victors in four of its last five.
 
*Handley became the eighth player in program history to notch 100 career goals after scoring his fourth of the game to end the first half.
 
*Handley scored a career-high matching six goals on the night with two assists for eight points. The senior has scored 12 goals in his last three games, totaling 18 points during that span. For his career, he's tied for sixth all-time in goals with Dylan Gergar at 102, fourth in points (190) and slides into fifth place in assists (88), passing Andy Crofton '96.
 
*The Quakers improve to 2-0 against UAlbany in the all-time series, winning the matchup for a second straight year.
 
*Cam Rubin and Robert Schain each finished with two goals.
 
*Ben Smith led the team with two assists, also scoring a goal for three points.
 
*Chris Arceri was nearly untouchable from the 'X', going 20-for-29 with nine ground balls and a caused turnover.
 
*Peter Blake had a team-high two CTs with one GB.
 
*Goalie Emmet Carroll made 10 saves to tally his seventh victory of the campaign.

*Penn out-shot UAlbany, 36-34. The Quakers also had the edge on faceoffs, 20-9, courtesy of Arceri's tremendous effort.
 
How It Happened
UAlbany scored first with 13:44 on the clock in the first quarter and that became four of the first five, leading 4-1 with 7:51 to go.
 
Gabe Furey ended a 3-0 run with his 10th of the year, cutting the deficit to 4-2.
 
The Great Danes' lead became an 8-3 edge with 8:27 left in the second quarter following the strike from Parker Winkky.
 
Sam Handley scored back-to-back goals over the next two minutes to make it a three-goal game, eventually making it five unanswered to end the first half tied at 8-8. Robert Schain scored the game-tying goal with just 13 seconds remaining on the clock, assisted by Ben Smith.
 
UAlbany scored the second half's first goal, courtesy of Elijah Gash, 13 seconds into the start of the stanza, but Smith returned the favor to knot the game at 9-9. The Danes went back into the lead, 10-9, after Peter Salit used a timely pass from Adam Thistlethwaite, but a man-up goal for Cam Rubin with 6:03 left in the third quarter and an unassisted goal for Handley put the Quakers back in front, 11-10, with 1:57 to go.
 
Penn scored three of the final four goals of the game in the fourth quarter, thanks to James Shipley's game-winner with 7:55 remaining and capped by Handley's empty netter with just 26 seconds remaining as the Quakers prevailed for the 14-11 win.
 
Up Next
Penn awaits this weekend's results before finding out its opening opponent for next weekend's Ivy League Tournament at Columbia. The Quakers are locked into the 2-3 semifinal game against either Cornell or Princeton. That game will take place at 8:30 p.m. next Friday at Wien Stadium.