PHILADELPHIA – Riding high after come-from-behind home victory over Yale last weekend, the No. 14 University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team heads to Providence, R.I. to take on Brown noon Saturday at Stevenson-Pincince Field.
 
The Quakers are 2-1 in Ivy play following a 17-16 victory over the No. 20 Bulldogs, jumping five spots in the national rankings and back into the Top 15 in both national polls for the first time since February 27.
 
On the contrary, the Bears are still searching for their first Ivy win of the season, after falling to Harvard in OT and Princeton to open conference play.
 
GAME 9: #14/14 Penn (4-4, 2-1 Ivy) at RV/RV Brown (4-5, 0-2 Ivy)
Saturday, April 8 | Noon
Stevenson-Pincince Field | Providence, R.I.
Watch (ESPN+, NESN) | Live Stats | Game Notes | Tickets
 
The Penn-Brown Series
*Penn and Brown are yet another historic rivalry, albeit not playing on as many occasions as other Ivy League foes. The first meeting was back in 1927, a 20-1 victory for Penn in Providence. Since then, the two teams have met 60 times with the Bears holding a 35-25 advantage in the series.
 
The Quakers are victorious in three of the last four matchups against Bruno, two of which coming in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals. Last season, Penn topped Brown, 14-9, at Stevenson-Pincince Field to get to the ILT final, where it took down Yale en route to its third tourney title.
 
The Last Time Out
*During Saturday's exciting game against Yale, Penn came out on top, 17-16. Ben Smith and Tynan Walsh scored four goals each and Sam Handley collected five points (two goals, three assists). This matchup improved Penn's Ivy record to 2-1.
 
After quickly securing the lead in the first quarter, the Quakers fell into a deficit in the second. Trailing by as many as four goals at the mid-way point of the third quarter and battling to tie the game, Penn scored five of the game's final seven goals. Walsh swiftly scored the game winner with just a little over a minute remaining in regulation with Casey Mulligan tallying the assist.
 
Walsh and Ben Smith each scored four for the Quakers, followed closely by Sam Handley (2) and Robert Schain (2). Faceoff specialist Chris Arceri and two-way man Matt Palazzi each netted first-career scores, while Peter Blake scored the Quakers' first pole goal of the season. Defensively, junior Brendan Lavelle led the way with four caused turnovers and four ground balls.
 
Into The Homestretch
It's crazy to think that the men's lacrosse regular season is almost over, with just four games remaining until the postseason but it's exactly that. The Quakers have four more games to make a case for the Ivy League Tournament and to earn a berth into the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive season.
 
It won't be a simple task, though, as Penn will play three road games in its final four contests including back-to-back on the New England swing, starting Saturday against Brown and in Cambridge next weekend to take on Harvard.
 
Amazing April
April is a month that has been pretty kind to the Quakers over the years, heading into Saturday's matchup with Brown on a five-game winning streak in the month dating back to last season. Penn is 9-2 in April over the last five seasons, the only two losses coming to kick off the month in 2022.
 
Penn's final four games are in the month and could finish with a nine-game winning streak if it runs the table against the Bears, the Crimson, Dartmouth and UAlbany.
 
Sam's The Man
*Most of Penn's offense this season has revolved around Handley and all that he is capable of doing on the field. In a close contest with the Bulldogs last weekend, Handley had two goals and added three assists for a five-point game.
 
He has scored multiple goals in five straight games dating back to March 8 against Saint Joseph's. During that span, Handley has scored 13 goals with 10 assists for 23 points, along with two GWGs.
 
In addition, Handley is making his way up the Penn record books in several career-stat categories including points (7th, 170), goals (9th, 90) and assists (6th, 80). 
 
Keeping The Streak Alive
*Handley increased his point-scoring streak to 41 straight games with his two goals and three assists against Yale. That number is good for fourth nationally. Handley has at least one point in every game he has played for Penn during his career, good for 170 points.
 
Sending Out An S.O.S.
Penn had the second-best strength of schedule in the nation heading into last weekend's matchup with Yale, who previously had the nation's toughest slate.
 
Now, those two teams have flip-flopped with the Quakers overtaking the top spot. Each of Penn's eight matchups so far have been against ranked opponents with Brown on Saturday being the first unranked opponent of the year so far.
 
Ivy League foes are littered amongst the Top 25 in SOS, with Yale (2), Cornell (10), Princeton (13), Brown (22) and Harvard (24). Dartmouth sits just inside the Top 50, ranked 45th.
 
Penn In National Stats
*2nd in clearing percentage (0.919).
*4th in fewest turnovers per game (14.00).
*18th in saves per game (13.62).
 
Penn Players In National Stats
*Smith is ranked seventh in shot percentage (.500).
*Emmet Carroll is 13th in saves per game (13.62) and 25th in save percentage (.524).
*Handley is 28th in assists per game (1.88).
 
Penn In Ivy Stats
*Penn is first in fewest turnovers per game (14.00), clearing percentage (.919) and third for scoring defense (12.38).
 
Penn Players In Ivy Stats
*Handley is ranked fourth in assists per game. He is also ranked eighth in points per game (3.88).
*Smith comes in fourth in man-up goals (3). He also ranks first in shot percentage (.500).
*Carroll is third in both saves per game (13.62) and save percentage (.524).
*Chris Arceri is fourth in ground balls per game (4.67).
 
Scouting The Bears
*Brown dropped a 16-12 final at Princeton last weekend to fall to 0-2 in Ivy play. The Bears led 3-2 after the first quarter and trailed by a goal heading into the locker room at halftime.
 
*Aidan McLane scored five goals on 19 shots in the loss. His brother, Devon, had two goals and two assists.
 
*Devon is first in the Ivy League for both points per game and assists per game.
 
*Goalkeeper Connor Theriault is second in the Ivy League in saves per game and is sixth in save percentage with a .523 average.
 
*Matthew Gunty leads the league in faceoffs with a .630 winning percentage.
 
Follow The Action
*Saturday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and regionally through NESN with Mike Mancuso and Mike Rubin on the call. Live stats will also be provided.