Men's Soccer wins on Rhodes' late goal

In the 76th minute of a scoreless game, the Penn men's soccer team showed its resiliency.

"I got a shot and got it blocked," Penn sophomore David Maier said. "Then I got it back, kind of toed it to [John] Rhodes, and Rhodes put it inside the back post."

For freshman Rhodes, his first goal was a significant one, resulting in a 1-0 Quakers' win over Columbia (6-3-1 overall, 2-2 Ivy League) on Penn's home field, which happens to share his name.

As the 250 fans in attendance discovered, Rhodes is not your typical rookie.

He is more fluid on the field than most upperclassmen, which is why Penn coach Rudy Fuller refuses to send the freshmen to the bench.

"John Rhodes hasn't come off the field this year," Fuller said. "He's played every minute."

Despite Rhodes' heroics, the strength of the Quakers' team as a whole should not be overlooked. Penn (7-2, 3-0) was coming off their toughest loss of the season -- a double overtime contest against No. 17 Lehigh on Oct. 9.

Nevertheless, the Quakers mustered up enough strength to defend against a potent Lions' attack in the first half.

"We knew it was going to be a battle," Fuller said. "On paper, the teams were very even."

Indeed, it was a physical battle. The game made it seem as if every player who took the field hit the floor multiple times.

"The refs could do a better job of controlling things in terms of repeated fouling," Maier said. "When it happens repeatedly, it is necessary to start giving cards."

The strong wind that circulated throughout the contest also contributed an additional factor to the match.

"We definitely chose to go against the wind in the first half, to get through it," Fuller said. "It was going our way in the second half and it worked for us."

In the second half, the Quakers played as if they expected to win. But though they were consistently on the attack, the Quakers' shots were not finding the back of the net.

"We had a few chances that should go in all the time," junior goalkeeper Matt Haefner said. "We just seemed to mess them up."

Columbia had a few missed opportunities of its own.

In particular, there was a play when Haefner was mixed up in a crowd of Columbia jerseys several feet in front of the goal.

A Lions' player seized the moment and rifled a shot towards the right side of the net. With Haefner too far away to react, Penn sophomore defender Erik Hallenbeck quickly stepped in and covered for his goalie.

Outside of his one mistake, Haefner was stellar en route to recording his fifth shutout.

"Haefner's been on a roll," Fuller said. "But he'll tell you, it's also the guys in front of him that are doing such a good job defensively."

The Quakers will have to continue to play stifling defense if they hope for a win against a talented Rutgers team on Wednesday.

Due to a tough schedule, Rutgers (5-5-3) is significantly better than its record indicates.

The Scarlet Knights have been ranked in the top 25 on and off this season and are coming off a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss to No. 11 South Carolina.

"There are a lot of challenges lying ahead of us, with Rutgers being the next one," Fuller said. "These guys are looking forward to it."

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