LaSalle makes a rare All-Philly soccer game

Due to scheduling limits set by the Ivy League, Penn chooses not to fully participate in the Soccer 7, soccer's equivalent of the Big 5. If it were a different era, today's game would be more than just another non-Ivy game for the Penn men's soccer team (1-0, 1-0 Ivy League), returning to Philadelphia after a victory over Harvard to take on cross-town and Philadelphia Soccer 7 rival La Salle (2-1-1) at 4 p.m. The Philadelphia Soccer 7, much like the Big 5 in basketball, utilizes geography to foster rivalry among the Philadelphia collegiate soccer teams, including Drexel, Temple, La Salle, Villanova, St. Joseph's, Philadelphia Textile, La Salle and Penn. The Quakers, however, do not compete against all opponents, and therefore, by choice, do not compete for the "league" championship. "One of the reasons that we formed the Soccer 7 is so we can have midweek games against good competition," La Salle coach Pat Farrell said. "There is very little travel and the kids don't miss much class." Due to scheduling limitations on Ivy League teams limiting the total number of games any team can play, former Penn coach Steve Baumann decided to withdraw from a full Soccer 7 schedule, and current Penn coach George O'Neill maintained the team's position when he took over in 1993. Currently, Penn, which will face only La Salle, St. Joseph's and Villanova, is the only team of the Philadelphia Soccer 7 to not play every other local opponent. "We originally played only 15 games a year until two years ago," O'Neill said. "We would play seven Ivy games, and then you would have to play six local. That leaves only two other games for the season. It's a no-brainer." Instead of playing the local teams, O'Neill and the Quakers can accept invitations to play in tournaments against teams in the national arena. This year, the Red and Blue will participate in two such tournaments featuring national competition, one at Penn State and the other at Hartwick. Despite not playing all six of their Philadelphia rivals, the Quakers are not taking today's game at La Salle lightly. The Quakers are busy planning a way to stop one of the best players in the country. Senior phenom Cesidio Colasante, Explorers' captain, is the feature player in both the offensive and defensive schemes for La Salle coach Pat Farrell, who is looking for his 100th career victory today. Already with 60 goals and 142 points in three seasons, Colasante, who already has two goals and five points in three games this year, is on pace to finish his career as one of the top 10 goal scorers and point producers in NCAA history. O'Neill does not plan to take any extra precautions to defend the explosiveness of Colasante, also known as C.C. Because of his superb one-on-one ability, shadowing Colasante with a Penn player is futile and dangerous. So how will the Quakers shut him down? "When you have a guy that is as smart as C.C., he'll run our defenders all over the field until our guy gets tired, and when he gets one chance, he'll bury the ball in the back of the net," O'Neill said. "We just need to be very cautious when he gets in our half of the field, then we pick him up tight and stay on him." What La Salle also has is offensive support for Colasante -- something they didn't have a year ago when the Explorers beat Penn, 2-0, at Rhodes Field in the 1996 opener. He will utilize the speed and talent of two freshmen in particular. Andre Spangler, the 1996 Pennsylvania Player of the Year, and Shawn Lafferty have already made an immediate impact playing with Colasante. La Salle's goalkeeper, sophomore Dan Devery, a 1996 All-Atlantic 10 selection as a freshman, is coming into today's game with three straight shutouts, including a 2-0 victory at Dartmouth last Saturday. "I expect a very difficult game," Farrell said. "(Penn is) returning all 11 of their starters, and with that experience, they will have success."