Frustrated M. Soccer can't catch Retrievers

After scoring first in seven straight games, the Quakers wached as UMBC opened up a 3-0 first-half lead. They usually explode out of the blocks, but this time the Quakers fell flat on their face. For seven straight games, the Penn men's soccer team had put the first goal on the scoreboard. But that streak died a painful death yesterday, as the University of Maryland-Baltimore County netted three unanswered goals in the first half en route to an easy 3-1 victory over the Quakers at UMBC Soccer Stadium. Of course, fast starts have not been particularly beneficial to the Quakers (3-8-2), as they had compiled just a 3-4 record in their seven-game streak of scoring first. And that included three straight 2-1 losses after squandering a 1-0 lead. "I think a lot of the players on the team really got frustrated," freshman William Lee said. "It seemed like some of the players showed a lack of interest at practices in the past week." Penn came out without much intensity from the opening whistle but held the leash on the potent Retrievers attack for the first twenty minutes. However, the gates soon opened for UMBC's offense, and by halftime the Retrievers had turned the game into a 3-0 rout. Ryan Lampton, Matt Gormley and P.J. Wakefield each netted goals for UMBC (16-0-1), while Ty Engram recorded an assist on each score. Penn coach Rudy Fuller, along with captains Mike O'Connor and Reggie Brown, tried to awaken the lifeless Quakers with a fiery halftime pep talk, one Fuller admits "had really nothing to do with the soccer side of it." "It was about coming ready to play, deciding to compete to win the game, playing with pride and playing with heart," Fuller said. The Quakers responded in the second half, outscoring the Retrievers 1-0. Junior Mike McElwain scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season on a centering pass from freshman William Libby with 27:11 remaining. Libby had been replaced in the starting lineup by freshman Justin Litterelle after missing several practices because of sickness, but the Potomac, Md., native played most of the game. The Quakers defense neutralized the nation's leading scorer, 5'6'' forward Giuliano Celenza. The diminutive UMBC junior was held scoreless for the first time in nine games. But Penn could not stop the No. 12 Retrievers from winning their 10th game in a row. "Marking [Celenza] left some of the other players open that we took for granted," freshman Robb Jankura said. "In particular we weren't very strong in the back," Fuller said. "[John Salvucci], Henry [Chen], William [Lee] and Mike [O'Connor] have put together a lot of good games in a row but we definitely gave away some easy goals." Lampton's goal was off a Gormley header on a throw-in by Engram. Gormley, meanwhile, scored on a deep cross from Wakefield, while Wakefield's goal was an eight-yard chip over O'Connor's head. The Retrievers outshot the Quakers 17-7, while both O'Connor and UMBC goalie Tom Wunk made four saves. UMBC has one regular-season contest remaining, a game on Sunday against Mount St. Mary's to determine the top seed in the Northeast Conference Tournament. The Retrievers set a school record with their 16th victory yesterday. However, in a game that was billed as an intense rivalry because of the connections between UMBC players and Maryland-area Penn players, the Quakers fell short from the start. "We didn't come prepared to play," Fuller said. "That was good enough for the first 20 minutes, but once they scored the first goal, we weren't able to respond." Along with the second half of their game against Columbia earlier this month, the three goals were the most given up by the Quakers in a half. "It was probably one of the worst [halves] of the season," Lee said. Penn was outshot 10-2 and managed just one corner kick in the first 45 minutes. However, the much-improved play of the Quakers in the second half may have righted what went wrong for Penn mentally. "The bus ride home wasn't as talkative as it used to be," Lee said. "This game really turned the game around for us attitude-wise." Penn has now lost four consecutive games after winning three of four earlier this month. "I can't figure out what's going on," Jankura said. "We're a really good team and we can't get it together. I don't know what the deal is."

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