LaSalle spoils M. Soccer premiere

Although the Penn men's soccer team came up short on the scoreboard -- losing to La Salle 2-0 yesterday afternoon -- the Quakers proved they were worthy opponents. The Penn defense held off the Explorers for almost the entire first half. But with two seconds left, La Salle's Brad Meisler headed a ball past a diving Justin Ramsay to put the Explorers up 1-0. "We let our guard down," said Penn coach George O'Neill, referring to the goal. In the second half, Penn rallied shooting on La Salle goalie Tom Gallagher early and often. However, Gallagher made fantastic saves to prevent a Penn score. La Salle's Cesido Colasante scored the Explorers' second goal with 4 minutes, 46 seconds remaining. Penn coach George O'Neill blamed the second goal on his decision to push up another forward, which left the Quakers vulnerable for a counterattack. "The worst thing is the actual result," O'Neill said. "But I'm delighted that they gave everything they had. They played good football." Penn's captain Read Goodwin was disappointed with the loss, but felt that the Quakers' lack of match experience was a contributing factor. "It was our first day out, compared to La Salle's fifth, so it was already to their advantage," he said. On the bright side, Goodwin was impressed by the nine freshman that played. "They showed a lot of poise and confidence on the field for their first college game," he said. Freshman defender Ted Lehman agreed with Goodwin's assessment. "Once I got on the field, all the nerves went away. I think the freshman all played pretty well," Lehman said. The sophomore athletes, however, saw the most action on the field. Midfielders Austin Root, Greg Kroll, and Morgan Blackwell combined for 55 percent of the shots taken by the Quakers. "Those boys played hard and gave everything they had, they just kept pushing the ball forward," O'Neill said. The coach also noted the work of sophomore Ralph Maier, who played tough against the talent of the Explorers. The final score aside, the Quakers made for an exciting match against La Salle. Even with a rainy day and few spectators, the two teams fought it out. "We all played hard until the very last whistle blew," Goodwin said.