M. Soccer scores three vs. St. Francis

The Penn men's soccer team produced more than one goal in a game for the first time this season against St. Francis. It finally happened. After losing countless 1-0 battles and seeing numerous shots sail just over the crossbar, the Penn men's soccer team finally broke out of its season-long scoring slump, defeating St. Francis (Pa.) 3-1 yesterday afternoon on Rhodes Field. The three-goal outburst marked a nearly 50 percent increase in the Quakers' offensive output of the first 11 games as a whole and gave the team its first back-to-back victories in 13 months. "We've dominated a lot of games this season, but [unlike the other games] today the ball found the back of the net," Quakers junior striker Reggie Brown said. "We didn't play our best game by far, but we're happy with the win." The Quakers (3-8-1) came into this midweek match high off a 1-0 victory at St. Mary's (Calif.) on Sunday and were focusing on continuing with their non-conference success against the Red Flash (6-11). Just 9:15 into the game, sophomore midfielder Michael McElwain started the Quakers on the winning path, scoring off a scramble in front of the visitors' net. "Reggie just got the ball from the keeper, and I got that right in the middle. It was an easy chance, so I just put it in," McElwain said. The Quakers pressured the Red Flash throughout the first 45 minutes, outshooting the visitors 11 to four. Their persistence paid off less than two minutes before the break, as Brown found freshman striker Evan Anderson alone in front for his team-leading second tally of '98. Anderson's score gave the Quakers a much-needed and very visible boost going into the half. While the entire Penn team jogged to and from the locker room, the Red Flash sat slumped on its bench, staring blankly out onto the field. The polar opposite of the Red Flash's first-half sluggishness, though, was the energy of the Quakers' Brown. The "roaming striker" tallied three assists, took four of the Quakers' season-high 23 shots and generally tracked the ball down wherever it rolled on the pitch. "They were giving me a lot of space through the midfield, so I had time to pick some people out, and people were making the right runs today," Brown said. The second half opened with a change in net for the struggling Red Flash defense. This switch, though, did little to curb St. Francis' errant play. Time and time again, the Red Flash's defense wasn't able to adequately clear the ball. Two Red Flash free kicks hit their own man less than five yards from the spot of the kick. Neither Jim Lushok nor Daniel Schmidt could shake their nasty habits of shanking goal kicks directly at the nearest Quakers striker. "Both goaltenders didn't play very well," Columbia coach Bill Furjanic said. "They were making some silly mistakes and putting the ball right at Penn's feet, and [Penn] punished us for it." Quakers freshman striker David Whitten rounded out the Quakers' scoring with his second goal in as many games on a breakaway in the 72nd minute. This breakaway, like many others, began with a Quakers' steal in the midfield and moved upfield on the quick feet of Brown. The Red Flash were unable to put together their first sustained attack of the game until after the Quakers made a number of substitutions with 10 minutes remaining. Quakers junior goalkeeper Michael O'Connor was pressed only intermittently in the first 75 minutes, but he had to make three of his four saves in the final 15. As the game clock wound down, unmarked Red Flash senior Alex Cormas was able to break O'Connor's shutout bid by burying a rebound in the 86th minute. As with the St. Francis goal, the Quakers were the victim of a number of second-half lapses -- including six offsides calls and two yellow cards. But although late problems highlighted the Quakers' room for improvement, the team should keep in mind that they are on a roll. Strong contributions were made by every team member, including freshman striker Aaron Cohen and junior defender Tom Hughes -- who used his 6'6" frame to nearly head in several corner kicks. "It feels good to get our breakout game, but we should've done much better than we did," Fuller said. "You're looking at the three goal scorers and you've got two freshmen and a sophomore. Whereas very early in the season they weren't figuring out how to find the chances -- and then they were finding them and not finishing them -- now we're putting it together. We tried to stay patient with them, and it appears to be paying off now."

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