M. Soccer shut out by Princeton, 3-0

Brian Henry really makes the most of his opportunities. Normally a fixture on the bench, the Princeton senior made his first start of the year on Saturday and responded in storybook fashion with a goal and an assist against Penn. Henry's heroics helped the Tigers men's soccer team (8-7-1, 3-3 in the Ivy League) defeat the Quakers (4-11-1, 0-6-1) by a score of 3-0 at Princeton's Laurie-Love Field. Princeton started the scoring about 30 minutes into the first half when Henry headed a corner from senior Chris Halupka to junior Griff Behncke, who kicked the ball past Penn goalie Michael O'Connor. Behncke struck again with just three minutes left in the first half on a pass from freshman Graeme Rein to put the Tigers up 2-0. "It's a shame to give up a goal so close to halftime," O'Connor said. "It would have been nice to go into the half only down 1-0." Although Penn played well in the second half, Henry would not let the Quakers get back in the game. After dribbling through Penn's defense, Princeton midfielder Greg Busch set Henry up with a perfect pass and the unlikely hero one-timed the ball past O'Connor. "Brian Henry is an example of the determination shown by Princeton throughout the year," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. "He played an excellent game. You couldn't tell that was his first start." Although Henry has another opportunity to shine against Yale, Penn's season ended with Saturday's loss. "We're going to come back from this game next year," Penn freshman David Whitten said. "I'm excited about what's going to happen in the future." Next year, the Quakers will return 23 of their 25 players, losing only captains Ralph Maier and Jared Boggs. "The two people we're losing were very important parts of our team," Fuller said. "Earlier in the year when other teams may have just quit, they kept us together as a team." "I loved the guys on the team," Boggs said. "This year I had definitely the most fun I've ever had playing soccer." Saturday's loss, though, was not quite the pinnacle of happiness for the Quakers. "Penn had to play a tough game against an inspired team," Princeton freshman Pete Kingston said. "It took us a little while to start connecting, and that can be attributed to Penn's team play." The Quakers, however, were not happy with their play early on. "In the first half we were not putting stuff together," Whitten said. "We were holding on to the the ball too long and not making enough passes." The second Princeton goal seemed to spark the Quakers. "That goal was a wake-up call for us," Fuller said. "It's too bad that we woke up down by two goals, but we played a lot better in the second half. We had to play a high-speed game to keep up with Princeton, and we didn't do that until the second half." The much-ballyhooed crowd was not a factor in Princeton's game plan execution, however. "They were actually quieter than crowds at other games," Whitten said, "And I'm impressed with the Penn crowd at the game. A lot of people stayed after the football game to watch." Unfortunately for those fans who did stay, they were not treated to a Penn victory. With this loss, the Quakers have now lost twelve games in a row to Princeton and have not beaten the Tigers since 1985. If unlikely heroes like Brian Henry keep emerging for Princeton, we might have to wait twelve more years for another Quaker victory over the Tigers.

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