M. Soccer rallies for first win

Marcinkiewicz tallies twice to ignite comeback If the Penn men's soccer team had lost yesterday the outlook for the season would have been disastrous. There was "a sense of urgency to get a win," co-captain Steve Marcinkiewicz said, as the Quakers travelled to Soccer Seven-rival La Salle. The match began with an all-too-familiar beginning. For the fourth consecutive game, the Quakers (1-3) failed to score in the first half. Goalie Andrew Kralik and the rest of the Penn defense were able to hold La Salle scoreless as well, giving the Quakers a chance to win in the second half. But neither team was able to put the ball in the net for most of the second half as well. With 25 minutes, 45 seconds left in the game, La Salle (2-4) finally drew first blood. Cesidio Colasante put one of the Explorers' 10 shots past Kralik for a 1-0 lead. The scenario was similar to the Quakers' past defeats this season, but Penn wouldn't quit. "It was very easy for them to put their heads down," Penn coach George O'Neill said. "But they stepped their game up and got more determined." Marcinkiewicz felt confident Penn would come back. "I wasn't too worried. We had the better of the play for most of the game. I knew we just needed one goal," he said. The clock continued to run, the Quakers unable to tie the game. Finally the dynamic duo of freshman Steve Cohen and Marcinkiewicz came through. In last weekend's shutout loss to Cornell, Penn's single best chance to score came when Marcinkiewicz beat the Big Red defenders and passed to an open Cohen. The shot sailed just wide. This time, the pair brought the Quakers back into the game. With 12:05 left, Cohen was able to find Marcinkiewicz on a crossing pass. The co-captain then beat goalie Yuri Fedortakenko to tie the game. "The pass was great, so I didn't have to do much with it," Marcinkiewicz said. It was the Quakers' first goal in over 125 minutes of play. With the momentum, Penn continued its determination to turn around its season. "They just said, 'we're not leaving here until we win this game,' " O'Neill said. La Salle was determined as well, blasting a couple of shots off the crossbar. None would beat Kralik again, however. Marcinkiewicz was not through with his scoring for the day. This time, Jared Boggs contributed the great pass and got the assist. Boggs put a pass deep into the middle to a charging Marcinkiewicz, who didn't have to break stride. He blasted a shot past Fedortakenko with 3:40 left. He has scored four of Penn's six goals this season. O'Neill and Kralik were both impressed with the spirited play of Marcinkiewicz. "He's always been a hard worker," said Kralik. "Today his hard work paid off for the team." The Quakers were able to fend off all further Explorers attacks to finish with a 2-1 victory. "This definitely gives us a lot of confidence," Kralik said. "It shows us we can come back from behind."