Soccer is not rocket science for McElwain

You don't have to know rocket science to excel in soccer. But you can. Just ask Mike McElwain -- a research assistant in the field of astrophysics as well as the leading goal-scorer on Penn's men's soccer team. Recently, McElwain helped Penn Physics Professor David Koerner submit a paper on companions for brown dwarf stars. But, although he has had success in his studies of the sky, the Quakers' junior is better known for his work on the ground at Rhodes Field. After being held scoreless for the first seven games, the York, Pa., native has scored three goals in Penn's last five games to usurp the team scoring lead. Although McElwain had only scored one career goal prior to this year, his recent scoring outburst has not come out of nowhere. "In preseason, [McElwain] was scoring goals in bunches," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. "I think it's taken him some time to get comfortable and get some confidence and realize he can do that in the real games." It is no coincidence that this season has been a breakthrough one for McElwain. After two years of spot duty, the Quakers junior has benefited from a rededication to the sport this spring. McElwain had gone from being a starter on his Pennsylvania state-finalist Dallastown High School team to a bench player at Penn -- starting only two games prior to this season. Mentally, he had lost some interest. "I just didn't have the passion for it that I did in high school," McElwain said. "It was a different environment, a different team." But McElwain trained hard over the summer with Drexel players Justin Beiber and Reuben Shaffer and came into training camp in August a different player. "I think he's changed in a lot of ways," Penn senior Reggie Brown said. "He came into camp working really hard for his spot. There were a couple guys battling for that forward position but he's kind of put his name on it. He's even a leader on this team now. He starts talking up and getting guys pumped around." As a player, McElwain combines his strength with deceptive speed -- he ran track his senior year at Dallastown -- and ties the package together with tenacity on the field. "He just never stops out there," Penn sophomore Evan Anderson said. "He's got a great motor -- he's always running back and forth, up and down." Possibly the best example of his determination on the field, however, came on a Penn goal that he did not score. Fifteen minutes into the game on October 6 at Lafayette, freshman Robb Jankura scored off a dish from Jason Karageorge, but it was McElwain's perseverance that set up the scoring opportunity. The Quakers had lost the ball on the attack to the Leopards, but the junior forward found a way to get it back. "Mike was the one guy that kept going," Fuller said, "and he was able to get the ball back for us and we ended up getting a goal out of it." But despite his hard-working manner and athletic skills, McElwain lacks one thing that could make him a true star on the field -- a mean streak. "If anything, Mike could stand to be a bit nastier on the field," Fuller said. "He doesn't realize how good a player he is. He doesn't have that cockiness and confidence that would do him good." Cockiness, however, does not fit into the mold of McElwain's personality. He is not out to impress people -- not in soccer and certainly not in his studies. McElwain is concentrating in astrophysics because he enjoys it, not because he desires the genius label of rocket scientist. "I don't do it because people think it's a tough thing to do," McElwain said. With a 3-6-2 record (0-2-1 Ivy League), it seems unlikely that Penn will make the NCAA Tournament in November, but McElwain will still be going places. More specifically, the Quakers junior is heading to Hawaii at the end of November to utilize the Kech Observatory while doing more astrophysics research. In the short term, however, McElwain looks to continue his goal-scoring hot streak tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. The junior will put brown dwarves temporarily on hold as he battles the Brown Bears (8-4, 2-2) on Rhodes Field. The Bears captured the Ivy League title last year, defeating the Quakers 2-0 in the process. Penn outshot Brown on the road, but could not pull off the upset. Brown leads the all-time series 21-19-6.

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