Playing in the shadow of the clash of the unbeatens in the Ivy League football title race in Cambridge last Saturday, the Penn men's soccer team dropped yet another match, this time to Ivy League leader Harvard, 1-0.
"Pulling into Harvard, when we saw the big [football] stadium and saw it packed, it was crazy," Penn freshman forward Joe Klein said. "It got me pumped up for our game."
Having already been eliminated from contention for the Ivy League crown, the pride-driven Quakers (6-8-1 overall, 2-4-0 Ivy League) looked to end their four match losing skid and also to spoil the Crimson's title pursuit.
"We came into the game confident we could win," Klein said. "They are not nearly as good as Princeton, and they are ranked first in the conference. We wanted to win this one."
Despite Penn's confidence, the Quakers saw themselves badly outplayed in the first 20 minutes of the match.
It was after a wave of successive Harvard (10-3-1, 5-1-1) attacks that the match's lone goal was scored.
The Crimson's leading scorer, sophomore forward Ladd Fritz, earned a penalty kick after being tackled within the box by Penn's Brian Candler.
Fritz easily converted the penalty shot, beating Penn goalkeeper Matt Haefner with a hard shot to the lower right hand corner of the net.
The one goal deficit would prove insurmountable, as the Penn offense once again struggled to find the back of the net.
"We didn't play too well on offense at first," Klein said. "After they scored we started playing better. The second half, we played very well."
The Quakers best chance in the match came midway through the second half, after Penn freshman Matt Waddell was fouled inside the 18-yard box, giving the Red and Blue a penalty attempt of their own.
Nathan Kennedy, however, could not convert the ensuing penalty kick.
Penn was shut out for the second consecutive match.
In the Ivy League this season, the Quakers ranked last in the conference in goals scored, averaging a mere 0.66 goals per game.
"We haven't scored a lot of goals," Klein said. "This match, I think we had a lot of chances, which is a big step for us. We just can't seem to find the net."
