PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team, ranked 13th in this week's USILA national poll, opens the 2025 season on Saturday in our nation's capital. The Quakers will take on 14th-ranked Georgetown in what has become a traditionally delicious early-season appetizer.
 
GAME 1 – #13 PENN (0-0) at #14 GEORGETOWN (1-1)
Saturday, Feb. 15 | Noon | Washington, D.C.
Watch Live on Big East Digital Network ($) | Live Stats
 
The Series with Georgetown
This will mark the fourth straight season that the Quakers and Hoyas have met in February and the sixth time overall, with Georgetown holding a 4-1 lead in the series. Penn's only win came the last time they were in D.C., two years ago, a 9-7 decision. GU won last year's meeting, 12-9, as well as the 2022 matchup at Franklin Field, 10-8.
 
In last year's meeting at Frankin Field in Philadelphia, Penn got three goals from returning senior Tynan Walsh and two from returning sophomore Leo Hoffman.
 
Strong Schedule…Again!
Penn head coach Mike Murphy has long been known for his strength of schedule, but he might have outdone himself in 2025. The Quakers' 14-game regular-season schedule features eight games against teams that were ranked in the USILA Preseason Top 20—five of them against Top 10 teams and three against the preseason Top 4—with four others against teams in the "receiving votes" section.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Despite not having played a regular-season game yet, Penn enters this week ranked in all three national polls: in addition to being 13th in the USILA coaches' poll, the Quakers are also ranked 13th in the Inside Lacrosse media poll and 14th in the USA Lacrosse Magazine national poll.
 
*The Red and Blue also were picked fourth in the Ivy League's Preseason Media Poll, which was announced on February 7. Penn got 57 voting points and were behind Cornell (90 points/9 first-place votes), Princeton (87/4) and Yale (71/1). The Quakers were voted ahead of Harvard (45), Brown (27) and Dartmouth (15).
 
*Entering his 16th season as head coach, Murphy is the program's all-time winningest coach with 105 victories ahead of the 2025 campaign.
 
*On the field, all eyes will be on a pair of fifth-year seniors for the Quakers: goalie Emmet Carroll and defenseman Brendan Lavelle.
 
*Carroll's preseason honors: Consensus first-team All-America (USILA, Inside Lacrosse, USA Lacrosse Magazine); Tewaaraton Award Preseason Watch List; Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year by USA Lax Mag; #4 on the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Top 50.
 
*Lavelle's preseason honors: Consensus first-team All-America (USILA, Inside Lacrosse, USA Lacrosse Magazine); Tewaaraton Award Preseason Watch List; Preseason Defenseman of the Year by USA Lax Mag; #10 on the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Top 50.
 
*Carroll in 2024: Consensus second-team All-America, Tewaaraton Award nominee and first-team All-Ivy selection. Finished with a .594 save percentage—leading the nation in that category—and posted a 10.82 goals-against average. That included his scintillating performance in the Ivy League Tournament, where Carroll came up with a career-high 19 saves in a semifinal win over Cornell and followed it up with another career high (20) in the final against Princeton.
 
*Lavelle in 2024: Consensus first-team All-America and unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection. His most noteworthy performance last year came against No. 1 Duke, when he totaled six ground balls and two caused turnovers and held reigning Tewaaraton Award winner Brennan O'Neill to just one goal on eight shots as Penn handed the top-ranked Blue Devils their first loss of the year.
 
*Coincidentally, both Carroll and Lavelle changed their numbers from last year, Carroll from 22 to 19 and Lavelle from 46 to 41. Both numbers hold significant prestige and responsibility in the Penn program:
- 19 was the number worn by the late James Farrell C'18, captain of Penn's 2018 team who was killed in July 2021 when an Uber he was riding in was struck head-on by a drunk driver in an accident that claimed five lives.
- In the Murphy era, 41 has become the number worn annually by the player viewed as the leader of the defensive unit.
- In both cases, the numbers are "legacy" numbers passed down by the previous season's wearer—in this case, James Shipley (last year's #19) and Peter Blake (last year's #41).
 
*Other players who received preseason honors ahead of the 2025 campaign include attackmen Cam Rubin and Tynan Walsh, who got Preseason All-America honorable mention recognition from USA Lax Mag; and sophomore Anthony McMullan, who received Preseason All-America honorable mention from Inside Lacrosse.
 
*Penn returns four All-Ivy players from a year ago: Carroll, Lavelle and Rubin were first-team All-Ivy selections while senior Ethan Till was a second-team All-Ivy pick by the Ancient Eight coaches.
 
*Among the newcomers, five of them earned a spot on the Inside Lacrosse Power 100 freshmen rankings during the fall: defenseman Dante Vardaro was ranked 25th, midfielder Paul vanBastelaar was 28th, FOGO Stevie Davis was 41st, defenseman Matt Wills was 48th, and attacker/midfielder Nate Lucchesi was 91st.
 
*Penn has two players who could hit 100 career points as early as Saturday: senior Ben Smith enters the season with 98 points (74g/24a) while Rubin has 96 (77g/19a). Walsh is also on track to reach the milestone, entering the season with 86 career points (42g/44a).
 
*Carroll, Lavelle and Walsh will serve as this season's captains.
 
For the latest on Penn men's lacrosse, follow @PennMensLax on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.