When Penn faced off against cross-campus rival Drexel on Friday, it was supposed to be an easy, confidence-boosting game for the Quakers.
However, Penn stumbled much of the way to a 2-0 victory. Through the first 20 minutes of play, Drexel (2-4-0) appeared to be the team which had won three out of four games and not a team that came into the game with a 290-minute scoreless streak.
The Quakers (4-2-0) failed to find a rhythm early and had trouble getting their legs going, as they often have this season.
"We didn't really try and put a stamp on them at the beginning," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. "One of the things we were disappointed with at the half was we were just kind of strolling through the game. I don't think anybody on our team was that pleased."
Penn senior co-captain Erik Hallenbeck could sense the Quakers' focus fading and the game slowly slipping away.
"We've got to pull the trigger earlier," the defenseman shouted at teammates during a play stoppage midway through the first frame.
"I just don't think we look to shoot enough. We're always looking for the final pass to set somebody else up even better when in fact we have an open look at goal," Fuller said. "It sounds funny, but I think the guys in and around the box need to be a bit more selfish when they have a look."
The Quakers seemed to respond to their captain's chiding, especially the Red and Blue bench, which eventually produced the first goal of the game. Penn Freshman Jonathon Blackwell, in his first game of the season, made a bad touch deep in Drexel territory, but was able to recover with a nice tackle and move the ball over to senior forward Joe Klein.
The Quakers had just begun a counterattack, which left a streaking Ryan Tracy wide open in the goal box. Klein lofted the ball to the sophomore, who hit a solid header into the back of the net.
"We feel like we're a deep team," Fuller said.
For much of the season, the Quakers' bench had entered games and kept them under control. But Fuller wants his bench to be able to spark the team as they did against Drexel.
In the second half, the Red and Blue took their play to another level, and Drexel was unable to keep up.
Penn senior Stephen Kroculick iced the game in the 61st minute with his third goal of the season. The goal was set up when junior midfielder John Rhodes was able to play the ball behind the Drexel defense. Kroculick caught up to the ball about 12 yards from the goal. Drexel netminder Jim Greco came out to try and make a play before Kroculick could reach the ball, but slipped. When he got up, he found the Dragons down, 2-0.
Drexel 0 0 -- 0
PENN 1 1 -- 2
First half -- 1. Tracy (P) 34:37 (Klein, Blackwell)
Second half -- 2. Kroculick (P) 60:21 (Rhodes)
