M. Soccer's streak clawed by Lions

In New York last Saturday, Columbia put an abrupt end to the Penn men's soccer team's recent winning streak with a 3-1 victory.

The Lions (4-2-2, 1-1-1 Ivy League) came out enthusiastic and ready to play, taking the Quakers by surprise. Within 12 minutes, Penn (5-3-1, 1-1) was down by two goals -- a huge deficit to recover from so early in the game.

Columbia's first goal came eight minutes into the match. The second came just four minutes later.

"To put it quite bluntly, Columbia came out like a team with its back against a wall," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. "We came out complacent."

But the Quakers were not so willing to hand over their six-game undefeated streak.

Even though it was down two goals, Penn played the rest of the 90 minutes with increased intensity, refusing to go down without a fight.

"To be honest with you, the coaches and players alike on our side really never felt we were out of it," Fuller said. "We came out slow, but our guys kept playing for the win. That's the difference between this year's team and teams from the past."

Columbia extinguished Penn's hopes of a comeback six minutes into the second half. The Lions stole a defensive clearance and knocked another shot past Penn goalkeeper Matt Haefner, putting the Quakers down by three.

The Lions managed to dominate the bulk of the game, outshooting the Quakers, 17-10.

With three minutes to go, junior Alex Maasry took a Penn corner kick and placed it directly in front of the Columbia goal. Senior Evan Anderson was there to put the ball into the back of the net and pull the Quakers within two.

On the next play, Maasry tried to net another corner kick, but Columbia keeper Mike Ewers thwarted his attempt.

Penn's comeback was too little too late.

"It wasn't meant to be," Fuller said. "This loss wakes us up, and opens the eyes of younger players who have had success so far this year."

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