Scoring a concern for M. Soccer in '98

Maybe the Penn men's soccer team should hire Ronaldo as a consultant -- they could use some pointers on how to score. Coming off their fourth shut-out loss of '98, a 2-0 loss to Harvard on Saturday, the Quakers (1-6-0, 0-3 Ivy League) head into today's 3:30 p.m. match with Lafayette (7-1-0) hoping to find a scoring punch that has been noticeably absent. "The team isn't happy with the result [of Harvard] by any stretch, but the team's spirits are still high," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. "They've matured a great deal from the beginning of preseason to this point." A big test of the Quakers maturity is how long the teams spirits can stay up while they keep coming up short in the close games. "We outshot Harvard 12 to seven, so you can see that the offense is clicking," senior tri-captain Ralph Maier said. "But we just haven't been able to finish -- it's that simple." The team has demonstrated that it can control the ball and keep play in its offensive zone, but too often the Quakers are missing that final piece of the puzzle. Through seven games, Penn has scored just three times. This is linked directly to the lack of a single 'go-to-guy' in the line-up. Coming into '98, only one returning player -- Quakers junior back Ted Lehman -- had netted more than one goal in a Penn uniform. "We have guys playing in our attacking spots who have never been asked to score goals at any time in their previous soccer careers," Fuller said. "So now to slide them into those spots and ask them to score goals is a pretty big chore for them." Juniors Reggie Brown, Jason Karageorge, and David Bonder, as well as senior tri-captain Jared Boggs, have all been shifted into a more offensive role than they are used to. While real progress has been made, it has been slow in coming. "Sure, there's an adjustment for all of us," Brown said. "We've had our opportunities ? but the ball just hasn't bounced our way." Last week the Quakers -- led by nine shots from Bonder -- outshot both Temple and Harvard, only to earn a split in the standings. "The Harvard game was definitely [Bonder's] best game of the season," Fuller said. "He has clearly stepped up his effort on both sides of the ball, and we're looking for him to continue those efforts." Today's match will require the entire Quakers offense to step up its efforts. Led by sophomore keeper Craig Schroeder and his 0.36 goals-against-average, all seven Leopards wins have come by shutout. "One of our goals coming into the season was to have a goals against average of under 1.00," first-year Lafayette coach Tim Lenahan said. "We've got some good goal-tending, and so far things have worked out for us." For the Quakers, though, things have not worked out, and the bounces have not gone their way. Although 12 different Quakers have put shots on net, the team has still not scored when it has trailed or scored in the second half. Recent play by Bonder and freshmen strikers Evan Anderson and Aaron Cohen has been impressive but still has not produced a multiple-goal game for the Red and Blue. "We've clearly improved in the offensive area, to where the front three or four [Anderson, Bonder, Brown, and Karageorge] are now really looking for their shots," Fuller said. "When they have a little bit of time and space, they're looking to shoot and score now -- whereas in the past, they may have been looking for that perfect pass." Quakers keeper Michael O'Connor has performed admirably in net, and has kept the team in a number of games. The Penn junior, who has recorded 32 saves on the year, will face yet another stiff test today. "We are getting our chances on offense, but we just have to work on being more dangerous up front," O'Connor said. "[Against Lafayette] I'm hoping the offense will bust out with a couple of goals." The Quakers will need to 'bust out' with a good showing today, as Lafayette is off to its best start in 13 years. But Leopards coach Lenahan, who also applied for Penn's coaching position in the off-season, is not yet ready to discount the Quakers. "Penn defends really well, and it's not like they've lost to easy teams," Lenahan said. "They're still a pretty good team, and we are facing them on the road." Lafayette juniors Leidy Klotz and Jake Ross have combined for six of the Leopards 12 tallies in '98, and lead a seasoned team up front. Klotz has scored game-winning goals for the Leopards in their last two games -- including Saturday's 1-0 defeat of St. Francis (NY) in double overtime. "Lafayette is clearly an improved team. Coach Lenahan has them playing very well, very organized, very enthusiastically," Fuller said. "It's going to be a good battle, and I think it's going to come down to who gets a break." "Lafayette and Penn are pretty similar," Lenahan agreed. "But we've just been fortunate to poke a few more home."

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