PHILADELPHIA – After opening the season with four of its first five games at home, the University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team begins hitting the road for all but two of its last eight games. The first trip comes Sunday, the 19th-ranked Quakers taking a little jaunt out to the Main Line to face Villanova in the latest installment of the Farrell Cup.
 
GAME 6 – #19 PENN (2-3) at VILLANOVA (3-2)
Sunday, March 8, 2026 | Noon | Villanova, Pa.
Watch on ESPN+ ($) | Live Stats
 
Ivy League on ESPN+
A reminder that the Ivy League is paired with ESPN+ and you will be able to find all Penn home games, as well as road Ivy games and select non-conference road games, on ESPN+ this spring with the same high broadcast quality you've come to expect. ESPN+ is a subscription-based service that offers monthly and yearly packages. Click here to subscribe to ESPN+!
 
The Series with Villanova
*35th meeting in a series that started in 1988; Penn leads the overall series, 21-13, with wins each of the last two years, three of the last four seasons, and four of the last six.
 
*Penn has won each of the last two games by 11-8 scores, including last year at Franklin Field. In last year's contest, Griffin Scane netted five goals.
 
*Not surprisingly, these local rivals have met every year since 1998 except for 2017 (and, of course, 2021 when the Ivy League did not participate in intercollegiate sports due to COVID-19).
 
*As a sign of how fierce this rivalry has been during that time, 11 of the 26 games have been decided by one goal—two of them needing overtime—with four more decided by two goals and still four others decided by three goals.
 
Strong Schedule…Again!
Although it's a new head coach (Taylor Wray), Penn's tradition of strong scheduling continues. Coach Wray and his staff have set up a 13-game slate that features seven games against teams that were in the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Top 20 poll—including five of the top six teams—and four more against teams in the "also receiving votes" section. (The Red and Blue also was listed among IL's teams receiving votes.) On the 2026 Penn men's lacrosse ledger…
  #2 Princeton (4/11)
  #3 Syracuse (3/1)
  #4 Cornell (4/4)
  #5 Georgetown (2/14)
  #6 North Carolina (2/27)
  #13 Harvard (3/14)
  #19 UAlbany (2/17)
  RV Dartmouth (3/28)
  RV Delaware (2/21)
  RV Villanova (3/8)
  RV Yale (3/21)
 
Home Cooking
*Penn is playing just its second road game this season; the Quakers played four of their first five games at home. Following the Harvard game on March 14, the Red and Blue are home just one more time—that comes April 4 against defending NCAA champion Cornell, which will also be Alumni Day for the Penn lacrosse programs.
 
*In addition, Penn had more home games in February (4) than it does in March and April combined (2). We're taking some liberties here; the fourth home game was really March 1, but we counted it as February since it happened on a weekend that also included February dates.
 
USILA Team of the Week Honors For Eldridge
Senior Mac Eldridge was named to the USILA's National Team of the Week on February 25, based on his 17-of-19 performance at the faceoff X in Penn's 14-6 win over Delaware on February 21.
 
Preseason All-America Recognitions
Senior middie Griffin Scane received honorable mention recognition by both USA Lacrosse Magazine and Inside Lacrosse when they announced their Preseason All-America teams.
 
Junior SSDM Anthony McMullan received Preseason All-America honorable mention recognition from Inside Lacrosse for the second straight year.
 
2026 Quaker Notemeal
*Junior Davis Provost leads the Quakers in points (16) and shots on goal (26) and is second in goals (13); he went for at least three goals and four points in each of the first three games this season and scored twice last Sunday vs. Syracuse.
 
*Scane has a team-leading 14 goals this season and had hit for multiple goals in every game (2 vs. Georgetown, 4 at UAlbany, 3 vs. Delaware, 4 vs. UNC) before being held to one last Sunday vs. the Orange.
 
*After scoring a goal in his collegiate debut, freshman attackman Jackson Maher has 15 points across the last four games and has gone for multiple points in all of them. He led Penn with four points (2g/2a) in the Syracuse game.
 
*Junior Ben Beacham recorded three points in each of the first three games this season, then went for a goal in both games last weekend (vs. UNC and Syracuse).
 
*Junior Leo Hoffman had a point in each of Penn's first four games this season, before getting shut out by the Orange; the highlight so far this season was his four-assist outing against Delaware.
 
*Overall, Penn has had 12 different goal scorers this season (including eight with multiple goals) and nine players who have dished out an assist.
 
*Eldridge is just part of Penn's strong face-off group; collectively, they are winning draws at a .605 rate this season (72-119). Eldridge is 40-26 (.606) while fellow senior Ethan Costanzo is 20-13 (.606) and freshman Quinn Ball is 9-4 (.692) including 8-1 at UAlbany.
 
*Sophomore Jack Pelot made 16 saves while allowing just six goals against Delaware, and was above .500 in save percentage in both games last weekend (12 saves/11 goals vs. UNC, 10 saves/9 goals vs. Syracuse). He has played every minute between the pipes with a .551 save percentage for the season.
 
*Three players lead the defense with five caused turnovers: sophomore Dante Vardaro on close defesnse, junior LSM Matthew Till, and junior SSDM Anthony McMullan. McMullan is a threat to get offensive when the ball is in his stick; he has a goal and an assist already this season.
 
Preseason Notemeal
*Scane is Penn's leading returning scorer, both in goals (25) and points (30). That included a team-high five EMO goals in 2025.
 
*Provost finished third on the team in goals (17) and points (24) last year.
 
*Hoffman was Penn's leading assist man last year, with 11, and added four goals for 15 points in total.
 
*Sophomore Nate Lucchesi was the Quakers' other double-digit scorer in 2025, with 10 points (4g/6a).
 
*Among the returning defenders, Ryan McLaughlin had eight caused turnovers and 18 ground balls while Vardaro had six CTs and eight GBs. Ryan Sullivan started every game last season on close D and had five caused turnovers and nine ground balls.
 
*Till was mostly an LSM last year but finished the campaign with 12 caused turnovers and 13 ground balls. Expect to see him back at LSM or on close D.
 
*Among the SSDMs, McMullan leads the brigade but others who saw time last year include Jacob Pacheco and Paul vanBastelaar.
 
*Among the freshmen, Maher (23rd) and Ball (26th) were listed on the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Power 100 Freshman Rankings back in August.
 
*Eldridge, McLaughlin, Pacheco and Scane will serve as this year'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.