The pillar between the pipes for the Penn men's soccer team has played on Rhodes Field for the final time.
As goalie, senior Matt Haefner has developed into Penn's most recognizable soccer player, starting all but five games in his final three years with the Red and Blue, bringing home Philadelphia Soccer 7, Ivy League and All-American honors in the process -- not to mention Penn's first Ivy League title since 1980.
Haefner made a permanent mark on the Penn soccer program with his unforgettable 2002 season, when he set single-season school records in goals against average (.45), save percentage (.923) and shutouts (10).
However, the heir to Haefner's throne is far from apparent -- coach Rudy Fuller has three players vying for the spot.
In hindsight, the victor of the three this season appeared to be freshman Daniel Cepero, who started all three games that Haefner sat out.
After going through what he called "soccer shock" at the college level, Cepero adjusted nicely, giving up only two goals in his three games between the posts, including a 10-save performance at Ivy League champion Brown.
Giving Cepero such playing time surprised many, given the way Fuller found him -- he invited Cepero to preseason practice after seeing videos of his game and training footage.
Cepero was not recruited, unlike sophomore Bert Lockwood, who is also a Daily Pennsylvanian reporter, and freshman Garrett Herfkens, who were already confirmed team members when Cepero came to camp.
"I didn't come in here expecting to play at all," Cepero said. "I came in here out of nowhere... I just take it and go with it."
Cepero attributed much of his improvement this season to Haefner.
"I still try to emulate his movements and positioning on the field," Cepero said.
Haefner impacted the other two goalies' careers as well.
"One of the reasons I came here was because I met Matt," Herfkens said. "I saw that he made some tremendous jumps from when he started playing to what he is now."
"He works very hard in training every day and that looked like it correlated into success on the weekends," Lockwood said. "Definitely his work ethic was something that I learned from."
Cepero expected Lockwood to be the backup goalie "because of his experience, and he's talented. He's got the skill and all the tools that Matt does."
However, Fuller said Lockwood is on "equal footing with the two freshmen," as seniority takes a backseat to daily training performance.
"Past experience can help a lot, but at the same time, the way [Fuller] is trying to set up the program is that the players that perform the best during the week in training get rewarded by trying to contribute during the game," Lockwood said.
This explains why Cepero -- chronologically fourth to join -- found his way into the net.
"The margin was extremely narrow between the four, but Danny was probably the No. 2 [goalie] for the most part of the season," Penn goalkeeper coach Todd Hoffard said. "It could have been any of those four on any given day, but Danny started a little more consistently and a little more on top of his game."
So it was for this reason that Fuller decided to play Cepero earlier than expected -- against Philadelphia University on Oct. 8.
"At that point, the difference between our first and fourth keepers was very slim, but Danny separated himself a little bit," Fuller said. "We felt he was the guy to go with."
Four games after Penn's 5-0 thrashing of Philadelphia U., the suspension of nine players for violating an unspecified team rule sent the lineup into disarray.
Haefner's suspension meant one of the goalies would need to learn the ropes quickly -- as Cepero had the only start in the group. After Cepero got his second and third chances in goal the coaches did not regret their decision. He gave up one goal in each of the games -- including the 1-0 loss to Brown.
"Danny's biggest strength is that he knows his limitations and he doesn't try to go outside them," Hoffard said. "When he was given the opportunity, he stepped up well."
Though Cepero appeared to be the obvious backup on paper this season, competition among the goalies was tight.
"It could have been any one of us" who started, Cepero said. "We had all been working hard, not just to push ourselves but to push the person next to us to keep the quality of goalkeeping at a high level."
Fuller assured the extremely competitive environment for the goalie spot is there for a reason.
"We want guys that are hungry to play," he said. "Then they work harder and get better from training."
"The biggest thing that I try to look for is that they be the hardest working player out there," Hoffard said. "You have to be, because if you make a mistake in the goalie position, you lose the game."
Hoffard even went so far as to say that if the opportunity arises, he expects Fuller to add a fourth goalkeeper to next year's roster to maintain the intense competition of this past season.
If a fourth goalie joins the Red and Blue, he will certainly have his work cut out for him.
"They are all great kids and solid goalkeepers," Haefner said. "I'm not worried about next year at all."
Despite the discrepancy in playing time, goalie frustration seems to be at a minimum.
"I am happy to see anybody do well.... There is no jealousy or anything," Lockwood said. "I think it's all positive and I just hope that whoever gets in does well for the team."
Cepero said that while each goalie brings different skills, he "doesn't really see a gap" in skill level between the three.
"The level of goalkeeping is pretty high here," he said.
Looking ahead to next year, it would appear that Cepero has the advantage in the chase for the starting job. However, players and coaches agree that Cepero's playing time will not change how the coaches look at the goalie situation next fall.
"I don't think [the coaches] will hold those [games] against" Lockwood and me, Herfkens said. "When you get into preseason, that's when the proving ground comes in."
Hoffard hopes Cepero gained confidence this season.
"I hope it gives [Cepero] the confidence to say, 'This is something I really want,'" he said. "But he's going to have to do it daily, and it's the same commitment that Bert and Garrett will have to make. I have all the faith in the world that they will all bust their hump in the offseason.
"They know that there isn't anyone written in the lineup right now."
And it is the openness of this competition for a starting spot that will make next season all the more interesting to watch.
"The job is wide open," Lockwood said. "Between the three of us, we are all pretty hard-working and good goalkeepers.
"It's going to be a battle."
