M. Soccer chases key Ivy victory

After suffering a disappointing home defeat to a wearied No. 10 Rutgers squad on Tuesday, the Penn men's soccer team looks to recoup on Sunday when it returns to Ivy League play with a match against Brown, the defending Ivy League champions.

In their last Ancient Eight match, the Quakers shocked Yale, 2-1, when Alex Maasry scored the game-winning goal for Penn with under three minutes remaining in the contest.

The Quakers will look for the heroics to continue this weekend in Providence, R.I.

They will square off with a reeling Brown squad which, despite its glory-filled recent past, has struggled to get on track thus far this season.

Since 1994, the Bears (3-6-1, 1-1-1 Ivy League) have captured five Ivy League crowns, including last year when they went undefeated, and have qualified for the NCAA tournament six times.

Part of the Bears' struggles can be attributed to the loss of last season's Ivy League Player of the Year, Cory Gibbs, who now stars professionally for the German Bundesliga's FC St. Pauli Hamburg.

Although some of the scoring slack has been picked up by starting sophomore Adom Crew -- Crew leads the Bears with three goals -- Gibbs' absence is purely evident.

Brown's offensive ineptitude is further heightened by the fact that although the Bears have allowed the fewest shots on goal in the Ivy League, they have also failed to score goals on the other end.

The Bears' inability to put the ball in the net has led them to play five overtime matches this season, in which their record is a paltry 1-2-2.

As for Penn, this match has a critical importance in its pursuit of an Ivy League title.

"We see this as a pivotal game," Penn freshman David Maier said. "Brown is struggling and we need this victory to stay in contention for the Ivy title.

"We must win this Sunday."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.