M. Soccer runs into trouble in Florida

Coach George O'Neill warned the team to stay away from Florida Atlantic's Robert Poe. But Penn freshman Brad Copeland found out just how unlucky it was to tangle with No. 13. Copeland suffered a concussion and a fractured collarbone when Poe hit him during Sunday's soccer matchup. Poe has been charged with two red cards already this season, but the notorious defender walked away free this time. As Poe moved the ball upfield, Copeland moved into his path. Poe mowed him down from behind. Copeland was called for the obstruction. "I told the boys to be very careful, not to get involved with him," O'Neill said. "[Poe] doesn't have good control over himself on the field." "Coach said something about a guy with two red cards, but I honestly didn't approach the game any differently," Copeland said. Maybe he should have. Copeland is out for the season. Penn's back line will be struggling to recover its strength without the 6-foot-1, 170-pound defender. Copeland's injuries were the grand finale of a weekend of turmoil in Florida. Friday the Quakers lost in overtime to Florida International in Miami. The nationally ranked Golden Panthers scored at 14 minutes, 29 seconds to maintain a lead in the first half. Penn came out strong in the second half despite the suffocating heat. Junior David Choi and Copeland were taken out due to heat exhaustion. Junior Brendan Sullivan evened things up at one with just 8:22 left in the game. The Quakers nearly sealed a victory when senior Scott Ford nailed a shot just outside the goal post with 16 seconds left, but Penn's failure to capitalize on this chance sent the game into overtime. Until the game was extended, the Dr. Jekyll-and-Mr. Hyde Quakers once again had assumed their winning identity. They gave the talented Golden Panthers a fight they did not bargain for, largely due to stellar midfield play by Sullivan and junior Steve Marcinkiewicz. "Our midfield was tough," junior Pat Larco said. "The defense was having a rough time with their forwards, but it seemed like the midfield created more opportunities." After receiving a yellow card in the first half after an aggressive tackle, Larco was ejected from the game just two minutes into overtime. Larco came down on his opponent's face after fighting for a head ball in the air. Penn's leading scorer was given a red card for the kick to the head. With each step Larco took off the field, the Florida International squad, including Larco's former club soccer coach and teammates, sealed its victory. The Quakers were left with only 10 men on the field, and the Golden Panthers took full advantage. Florida International scored three goals within 15 minutes to defeat the Quakers 4-1. "I was very disappointed," Larco said. "It meant a lot to be playing against that team." Due to the red card, Larco was unable to play in the Florida Atlantic game, but the Quakers were able to pull out a victory regardless. Sophomore Read Goodwin scored for Penn at 34:18 off an assist by freshman Jared Boggs. Just three minutes later Marcinkiewicz sent one to the net and put the Quakers on top 2-0. "[Penn] was sloppy," O'Neill said. "The fatigue was catching up with them." Their exhaustion did not go away fast enough. Upon returning to Philadelphia, the Quakers were promptly defeated by Lafayette 2-0 yesterday. "I don't know if we underestimated them or what," Larco said. "In the first half we came out flat. They scored quickly. We had our chances, but once again we didn't finish. We had more than enough chances." The Lafayette goal was a wake-up call. The Quakers picked up their play for the last 15 minutes of the half, but the alarm was not loud enough. The sluggish game persisted until the Leopards scored again in the second half and cemented the victory. The temperamental Penn team once again proved it could contend with top teams and lose to inferior squads at the same time. Without any consistency, there is no way to predict how they will fare in its next Ivy match at Brown Saturday. One thing is for sure: The Quakers are hurting. Two starting players have been lost in one week, sophomore forward Max Englehardt quit, and Copeland is out, leaving serious gaps in both the offense and defense. If their lackluster performance against Lafayette is any indication of what is to come, O'Neill better be sending out a more serious warning.