M. Soccer wins ugly

In Europe, soccer is known as football. When the Penn men's soccer team met La Salle Saturday, it learned why. At first, the Quakers appeared confused, and even overmatched by the physical Explorers. There were seven yellow cards assessed in the game, with two La Salle players -- senior co-captain Joe Veneziale and junior midfielder Pat McCallion -- ejected for rough play. Though the Explorers may have been more physical than the Quakers, Penn was the better soccer team, winning 2-1 on a late goal by junior co-captain Steve Marcinkiewicz. "It was ugly, but it counted," Marcinkiewicz said. "When you play city schools, it'll be a more physical game, because a lot of them grew up playing that way. We had a good game from the backs, Alan Waxman and Matt Stern. They controlled the air, which is what they came out to do." Stern, a junior transfer from Union, starred in his first game at Penn. Many of the Quaker transfers and freshmen got the opportunity to play in the first game, and most managed to excel. "The soccer's better here," Stern said. "We were a little nervous when we came out. It takes a little time to get the chemistry together. In the second half, we were a little better." Despite the loss of junior defender Dave Choi, who went down with an ankle injury in the 37th minute, the Quakers shut the Explorers down, allowing only seven shots on junior co-captain Andrew Kralik. "We had a pretty solid performance," senior co-captain Keith Amen said. "It's good to see the freshmen come through in their first game. Brad Copeland played great in back. Jared Boggs got in and played well. The team came together and played great." Some of the players, especially the new Quakers, confessed to suffering nervousness before the game. The boisterous crowd, evenly split between La Salle and Penn fans, helped to ease their fears a little. But the most effective medicine for worry was to just play soccer. "It was nice to get the kinks out," Penn coach George O'Neill said. "The passing let us down, particularly in the first half, but the boys worked hard, making good decisions in the shots they were taking. It was more nervousness about the first game than anything else." Even though Penn won, it was only the first game. The team sees many areas that need improvement. "It's typical of our first game," junior forward Pat Larco said. "We had good and bad instances. Our passing was pretty bad in the first half, but we made our runs off the ball. Once we get our passing down, we'll be much more fluid and effective when we have the ball." Marcinkiewicz scored the game-winner on a penalty kick at 58:11 in the second half. The Explorers made the game tight on a goal by freshman midfielder Cesidio Colasante. However, the Quakers fought off La Salle defenders, who were playing very tough. Though Larco, Amen and Stern earned yellow cards for more flagrant play, self-control helped guide the Quakers to victory. "The boys handled themselves very well," O'Neill said. "They played hard and didn't get involved in talking back. A few yellow cards were given, but those were for hard tackles and overzealousness. We didn't have any cards for lack of control." The Soccer Seven rivalry made the game even tougher. The Seven --Penn, La Salle, Drexel, Temple, Textile, St. Joseph's and Villanova -- is similar to basketball's Big 5. "There's a good rivalry between the Soccer Seven schools," O'Neill said. "They're local derby games, or the Eagles versus the Giants. La Salle was out to prove they weren't as bad in that other game against Drexel, when they got shut out. I'm delighted the boys worked as hard as they did and got a victory." With the victory, the Quakers settle down for more than a week off to heal. During practice, they hope to improve on their passing and finishing. With Saturday's success, the team thinks the rest of the season looks bright. The coaching staff, however, is more conservative. "Hopefully this win will set the tone," O'Neill said. "Now they know what it takes to win. They've jumped the first hurdle. There's 14 more to go."