M. Soccer still winless in '98

Going into Saturday's Ivy League matchup at Cornell's Berman Field, the Penn men's soccer team could not help but be excited about its prospects for the meeting. After all, Cornell (2-3, 1-0 Ivy League) -- like the Quakers -- had a new head coach, a new system of play and had been swept in a tournament last weekend. But when all was said and done, the Quakers (0-5, 0-2) could only manage to come away with the same-old result -- their third hard-fought, and disappointing, 1-0 loss of the season. "We should've won," Quakers coach Rudy Fuller said simply. "Not that we necessarily played that well, but we are as good as, if not better than, Cornell." Despite being outshot eight to three in the first half, junior goalie Michael O'Connor and the Quakers' defense managed to keep a relatively sluggish game scoreless at the break. "Neither team had the better of it, and neither team did any serious attacking [in the first half]," Fuller said. "We didn't really start playing until the second half -- until after they scored." Big Red forward James Lukezic was the culprit who broke the scoreless tie, heading a cross just inside the far post in the 11th minute of the second half. Despite several late surges by the Quakers, the team could not find the back of the net, and the 6'3" Lukezic's goal stood up as the game-winner. "Late in the second half we played more aggressively, but we can't wait 50 minutes to start to play," junior defender Ted Lehman said. "We need to string together 90 minutes of good soccer." Lehman and senior midfielder Jared Boggs led the Quakers with two shots apiece, and each forced Big Red goalie Andrew Barton to make diving saves in the last 60 seconds of play. "Those were two real good chances," Boggs said. "Along with a run up the middle by [junior striker] Reggie Brown early in the first half, they were some of our best chances on the day." But despite the late Quakers rally, the team's offense was quite reserved. The Quakers' "attack-in-numbers" offense forced Barton to make only three saves on the day -- two of which were in the last minute surge. With the victory, Cornell picked up its first Ivy win of the season, while becoming the fifth straight team to deny Quakers coach Rudy Fuller his first victory at Penn. Fuller himself earned a yellow card from the sidelines for arguing a call midway through the second half. His outburst of energy, though, did not carry over to the team, and the Quakers remained scoreless for their third straight half of play. "It was just something that needed to be done," Fuller said. "There were just some calls being made in the second half that weren't consistent with the first half." Cornell junior goalie Andrew Barton recorded three saves in posting his first shutout of '98, while Big Red sophomore Richard Stimpson and Lukezic led Cornell with three shots apiece. This loss may be the hardest for the Quakers to swallow so far this season. Cornell was unranked, and had struggled earlier this season -- presenting a perfect opportunity for the Quakers to even out their Ivy League record. The game did see continued improvement in the younger members of the team. John Salvucci played well on defense and striker Carlos Torres came off the bench, putting up one of the Quakers shots on the day. But as it stands right now, a .500 season and a middle-of-the-pack Ivy finish seems more likely than a return to the third-place Ivy finish of two years ago. "Other than playing well in our losses, we still have a lot to prove to ourselves," Fuller said.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.