M. Soccer dry spell ends in 2-1 loss

The Quakers ended a scoreless streak but lost to the Red Flash, who they beat last season. The Penn men's soccer team may have ended its scoring drought but its winning drought continues. At 0-2-2, the Quakers are still looking for their first win of the season, as St. Francis (2-3) outscored the Quakers 2-1 yesterday in Loretto, Pa. "We were a better team," Penn co-captain Reggie Brown said. "But they worked hard, they played hard, they were more into it and they deserved the result." The Quakers problem with scoring is not new. Last year, they scored one goal or less in 14 of 16 games. However, one of those two other games was a 3-1 victory over St. Francis. "The guys are trying 100 percent," co-captain Mike O'Connor said. "They're just having a problem finishing." This season has seen the Quakers show more promise in that they have outshot their opponents in the past two games. Nonetheless, they have still not been able to come up with a win. Against St. Francis, Penn tallied 15 shots while the home team only had nine. "We've been finishing in practice but we can't seem to bring those results into a game," Penn freshman Nathan Kennedy said. "We should be scoring." The Red and Blue also had nine corner kicks to St. Francis' two. But all the statistical advantages in the world do not add up to a win. "We just haven't been getting the breaks," O'Connor said. "A lot is just unlucky." St. Francis got off to a quick start whereas Penn came out flat. Frank Lanns blasted the ball from 15 feet and goalie O'Connor made the initial save, but the ball bounced back to Lanns and the forward was able to score on this second opportunity. "That goal really gave them confidence," O'Connor said. "We came out kind of sluggish and paid for it." St. Francis recorded only two more shots in the half but the damage had been done. "The first goal served as a wake up call for us," Kennedy said. "After that, the game started to turn in our favor." Penn had its share of chances to tie the score. On two different occasions, Quakers forwards hit the post but couldn't put the ball in the net. "After golden opportunities that are missed, we can't get down on ourselves," Brown said. "And that's what might have happened in this situation." St. Francis struck again 30 minutes into the second half. This time, Kevin Kennedy took a nice pass from Mike Giardello and shot the ball from the left side, 10 feet from the goal. "They just passed the ball really well, found the open man and he was able to put it into the open side of the net," O'Connor said. Penn was able to score but it was too little, too late. Freshman William Libby scored with four minutes to go in the game after a scramble for the ball in front of the goal. "We definitely deserved Billy's goal," Kennedy said. We put a lot of pressure on the goalie for almost the entire game. It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done." Penn had a last minute flurry of action in the opponent's goal area but nothing resulted as the final whistle blew. "We continued to fight up until the end, which was positive," Brown said. Last season, the Quakers had their highest goal output of the season in the win against St. Francis, making this loss even more disappointing. "It's very frustrating," O'Connor said. "I would say we were a more skillful team but they played with a lot of heart." Up next for the Quakers is Ivy rival Cornell. Last season Penn lost to the Big Red 1-0. "We will definitely use this game as a motivator for the Cornell game," O'Connor said. "I really think the guys will respond."

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