M. Soccer looks for upset

Penn freshman walk-on David Whitten will meet high school teammate Adrian Rapp at Brown. Coming off an offensive explosion in a 3-1 victory over St. Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday afternoon, the Penn men's soccer team heads into dangerous waters this Sunday -- the Providence, R.I., confines of defending Ivy League champion Brown. Waiting for the streaking Quakers on Brown's Stevenson Field, though, will be friend as well as foe. Former high school and club teammates Adrian Rapp, a freshman striker for the Bears, and David Whitten, a freshman striker for the Quakers, face off for the first time in different uniforms. "It's going to be a challenge [for all of us]," Quakers junior striker Reggie Brown said. "If we're on for 90 minutes, then we come out with a win. But if we're not on for 90 minutes, then a team like Brown will be able to punish us." The Quakers (3-8-1, 0-3-1 Ivy League) may just be prepared for this battle against the Bears (9-2-1, 2-0-1), who are ranked No. 3 in New England by the National Soccer Coaches Association. The last two outings have seen the Quakers "be on," scoring four goals in stringing together back-to-back victories over St. Mary's (Calif.) and St. Francis. Injuries and arrivals have changed the face of both teams since their last meeting a year ago. The Bears have been without their returning First-Team All-Ivy selection, Mike Rudy, for over a month due to a concussion, and Quakers senior tri-captain Jared Boggs is out for at least another week with "a partial tear" in his medial collateral ligament. In their absence, the two freshmen from the small Branson (Calif.) High School will be looked upon to gear up their respective squads up front. Two-time Ivy Rookie of the Week Rapp leads the Bears on their attack, while Quakers leading scorer Whitten patrols the other end of the field. The two played together for four years on their high school team, and for several more on a Marin United Club team that finished third in the California State Cup in '97. Last season, despite 11 goals and 13 assists by Rapp, Whitten managed to outscore his co-captain and be named Branson's offensive player of the year. "I know I'm definitely looking forward to taking on Brown," Whitten said. "I have a friend [Rapp] who plays striker over there who I played with in high school. So I'm looking forward to -- pardon my French -- talking a little shit over there." Rapp, who saw little playing time prior to Rudy's injury, has been unstoppable since his teammate went down -- tallying three goals and an assist in his past eight games. "[Brown] was fortunate to have a guy like Rapp who was biding his time behind Rudy to come in and now step up his game and take over for them," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. "Rapp was recruited to be an understudy to Rudy, but he's had to develop a lot quicker than we anticipated," Brown coach Michael Noonan said. "He's scored some very good goals for us, and he's improving every day in practice." But in Whitten, the Quakers may just have an equal to the elusive Rapp. The Quakers striker also started '98 slowly -- he did not see any action until the Quakers 10th game -- and was even misidentified as 'Carlos' in the Quakers media guide. Whitten has come of age in the last two games, scoring goals in each of the Quaker wins. Last Sunday, in his first collegiate start, Whitten netted the game-winner in front of friends and family at St. Mary's. "David is trying his best to really get his name into the line-up each and every day," Fuller said. "That's what we need out of guys. We need guys who are trying to win a spot in the line-up on the field when they get their opportunity, and David's almost forcing my hand." Along with Whitten, Fuller has had his hand "forced" in the last few games by sophomore midfielder Michael McElwain, who also netted a goal against St. Francis. Invigorated with the frenetic energy of Brown, junior striker Jason Karageorge and freshman striker Evan Anderson, the Quakers head to Providence with a newfound offense that the Bears will be forced to respect. The offensive end of the field is where this matchup will be decided, as evidenced by Brown's high-scoring, come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Penn last season. The Quakers dominated that game early by grabbing a 2-0 lead, but three second-half strikes completed a startling comeback by the Bears in the final 34 minutes. At the same time, Bears sophomore goalkeeper Matt Cross has shut out all three Ivy foes he has faced, and with a 0.88 g.a.a. is the backbone of the leagues leading defense. "Brown is clearly one of the top teams in the Ivy League, and they're battling to get an NCAA bid," Fuller said. "We're going to need to be on top of our game to take care of them." But if Whitten and the Quakers offense can duplicate the performances of their last two games then the team might be coming back to Philadelphia on Sunday night with its first Ivy win in its last 11 tries.

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