Quakers' roll continues with upset of Brown

Brian Foote scored Penn'sBrian Foote scored Penn'ssecond goal and was honoredBrian Foote scored Penn'ssecond goal and was honoredas one of Soccer-America'sBrian Foote scored Penn'ssecond goal and was honoredas one of Soccer-America'sPlayers of the Week. Taunting cries of "Blackwell, Blackwell" permeated the evening air on Friday in Providence, R.I. It was parents' weekend at Brown, and the Bears' parents had flocked to Stevenson Field to see their beloved sons beat Penn and its leading scorer, Morgan Blackwell. But despite the heckling of the Brown fans, the Penn men's soccer team recorded its fifth win of the season. The Quakers shut out the Bears, 3-0, giving Penn three Ivy League wins on the season -- the most the Quakers have recorded in the Ivies since 1984. "It was a very, very competitive game," Quakers coach George O'Neill said. "The ball was up and down the field all night." The strong play of the Penn defense held off a pushy Brown offense. However, the Quakers failed to capitalize for most of the game -- waiting until the final 15 minutes of the contest to break the 0-0 deadlock. But Penn finally broke through, opening up the floodgates. Quakers forward Matt Huebner started the scoring with 14 minutes remaining in the game. Freshman midfielder Brian Foote had the second goal on a header off of a long pass from senior Brad Copeland. "The exact same play had happened before, and we missed," Foote said. "This time, I hit it a little closer to the inside." Foote was rewarded for his efforts with Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors and was also named one of Soccer America's Players of the Week. Jason Smoke capped off the barrage of last-minute goals with a score with three minutes remaining in the game. Blackwell recorded the assist. "Those guys really came at us in the first ten minutes," Penn defenseman Thomas Hughes said. "We held them off, and, in the second half, the offense took control so the defense could relax a bit." The defense, led by freshman goalie Mike O'Conner, has had three shutouts in the Ivy League this season. "I get credit for the shutout, but its really the defense that holds it together," O'Conner said. "Brown came out real hard. We battled back. The defense played very well." Early doubts about Penn's ability are quickly being erased as the team has not gone five straight games without a loss. "Brown is a very solid team," Huebner said. "And we came in there with the right attitude -- that we are going to win." "The boys have been working very hard since the first game," O'Neill said. "But our chances weren't going in. We were making some defensive mistakes, conceding some goals. Once our goals started, our offense has been great, and our defense is doing a great job. We shut out Cornell, Columbia and Brown."