Rookie O'Connor is a keeper

Penn freshman Michael O'Connor stumbled accidentally into the goalkeeper's position he now masters. Michael O'Connor's last start in goal was a shutout. However, when the Penn's freshman goalkeeper first began his soccer career, no one would have predicted his current success. When O'Connor was only eight years old and had just moved to the Philadelphia suburb of Springfield, he was converted to a goalie. He was the new kid in town, and, when nobody else wanted to play goalie on his team, the coach picked O'Connor. O'Connor had one practice at the position and then started his first game. "I saved a penalty shot in my first game of pee-wee soccer," O'Connor said. O'Connor continued playing keeper on his school team during season and then on club teams during the offseason. He went on to play soccer, as well as baseball, wrestling and track at Episcopal Academy. Penn coach George O'Neill saw him play during his senior year and decided to pursue the keeper. Cornell and Colgate had also expressed some interest in O'Connor's services, but O'Neill's hints at a possible starting position convinced O'Connor to apply early decision to Penn. Another big incentive to come to Penn was goalie coach Bob Rigby. O'Connor had attended Rigby's goalie camp for four years, and the chance to work with him one-on-one every day was a hard opportunity to pass up. O'Connor really had no idea what to expect when arriving at Penn for preseason camp. Penn has not been a soccer powerhouse in recent years, and, while many of O'Connor's teammates from club teams around Philly left the city to play, O'Connor decided to stay. The decision has paid off. While the Quakers' current five-game undefeated streak has come as a surprise, O'Connor says that he sees many parallels between Penn and his high school team. Many of the star players on the Episcopal soccer team graduated one year before O'Connor. O'Connor's senior year was expected to be a down year, but the remaining players came together to win their league championship. O'Connor sees the same team spirit among this years Quakers. "While some previous teams might have looked better on paper, they never played together as a team," O'Connor said. "That's the key to winning. Everyone here has one common goal. We've come out to play, and we play as a team." O'Connor's first start was a loss against Dartmouth. After the game, the coaches were all praising O'Connor's play in the net. He has started every game and played almost every minute since then. The biggest difference between high school and college soccer, besides the training schedule, is the physical play. O'Connor has suffered two concussions since arriving at Penn. The first was against Harvard. He tried to finish the game, but he decided to come out of the game after he began seeing two balls. O'Connor suffered the second concussion while away at Cornell. O'Connor went out to get a rebound of a block and was kicked in the head. The two knocks have been the only major injuries that O'Connor in his career. He has twice been named to the Ivy League weekly Honor Roll and was named this week's conference Rookie of the Week for in recognition of his three straight Ivy shutouts. "We're one of the more dominant Ivy League teams now," O'Connor said. "And this year is just the beginning."