Men's Soccer tops in Philly for second year in a row

In a season that has been defined by close wins, the Penn men's soccer team's victory last night was a classic way to clinch its second title of the season.

No. 16 Penn (11-2-1) defeated St. Joseph's (8-11), 1-0, last night in what proved to be another characteristic battle of defenses.

The win made the Red and Blue tri-champs of the Philadelphia Soccer 7. They share this honor with Drexel and LaSalle.

This marks the Quakers' second consecutive Philadelphia Soccer 7 title -- last year was the first in the program's history.

"We want to be one of, if not the, best team in Philadelphia," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. "Winning the Philadelphia Soccer 7 is the first step in that."

Though much of the competition in the Philadelphia Soccer 7 cannot match the intensity of Ivy League play, the title was not an easy one to defend.

"It's not an easy thing to do," Fuller said. "All of the Philadelphia teams are looking to knock off Penn."

Tonight's game, however, proved once again that Penn can overcome obstacles.

The Red and Blue were not playing their best when they took to the field last night, but much of their shortcomings were due to the field. The Hawks play on an Astroturf, while the Quakers' Rhodes Field is grass.

"We got off to a very slow start," Fuller said. "A lot of it had to do with the surface."

After a rough first half, Penn came out in the second half hungry for the win. It was left to a pair of freshmen to provide the decisive blow.

In the 58th minute, forward John Ableson received the ball from midfield and shot it toward the goal.

Following the carrom off of St. Joe's goalkeeper Pat Mundy, fellow Penn rookie John Rhodes took advantage of the netminder's misplay and scored.

"He got in behind the defenders," Fuller said. "He was able to tuck it by the keeper."

The tally was Rhodes' third of the season, which leads all other Penn freshmen in goals. The Mendham, N.J. native ranks third on the team in scoring this season.

On the other side of the field, junior goalkeeper Matt Haefner's earned his ninth shutout of the season. Haefner's 0.34 goals-against-average is among the top five in the nation.

With its City Series title defense maintained, Penn will take to the field for the final time in the regular season this Saturday when they face Harvard at Rhodes Field.

Though they have already secured a piece of the Ivy League title and a bid to the NCAA tournament, the Quakers have their eyes on standing alone atop the Ancient Eight.

"We still have some work to do in the Ivy League," Fuller said. "We would definitely like to earn the title outright."

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