In shocker, M. Soccer hands Yale 2-1 defeat

This weekend, the Penn men's soccer team proved that the game isn't over until the final whistle.

The Quakers (6-3-1, 2-1 Ivy League) stunned Ancient Eight foe Yale (5-3-2, 1-2-1) with a 2-1 comeback win Saturday at Rhodes Field.

With 18 minutes to play, senior captain John Salvucci completely changed the dynamic of the game when he knocked the ball past Yale's keeper. Salvucci's goal, only the second of his career, tied the game at one and gave Penn the confidence it needed to pull out a win.

"John pulled something out of his bag of tricks and it was a different game after that point," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. "We had it after that. The body language, the spirit, the enthusiasm -- it was all there after that goal."

For the next 15 minutes, the Quakers continued to attack, but they couldn't seem to get another goal.

But Penn, which has already played two of its games this season into double overtime, was not in the mood to stick around past regulation time.

With only 2:50 to play, sophomore Louis Lazar passed the ball from the middle directly onto the feet of left midfielder Alex Maasry. Maasry received the pass and shot it into the the back of Yale's net, sending Penn players and fans into hysterics.

"Louis and I have been playing together every day for the past year and a half," Maasry said. "He couldn't even see me, but once he heard me, he knew exactly where to play the ball. We have good chemistry."

The Elis, who had been sitting comfortably with a 1-0 lead for the majority of the game, were stunned. In the three minutes that remained, Yale attempted to redeem itself, but Penn's defense remained strong to preserve the victory.

"I think we came out flat, maybe a little scared of Yale," Maasry said. "Yale's been a team that's killed us the last few years and I'm sure we were all kind of doubting ourselves. I guess we were kind of timid."

Penn's timidity showed early on, as the Elis struck first, with Allen Cerasani netting a goal just 11 minutes into the contest.

But while they may have been scared in the first half, the Quakers came out in the second period with increased intensity, refusing to lose without a fight.

"We were disappointed to be down, 1-0," Fuller said. "We didn't feel like we deserved to be winning, but we weren't sure if the guys believed that they could win the game. But they proved it to us and they came back and got the job done in the second half."

With their second league win, the Quakers have moved out of a four-way tie for third place in the conference.

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