The Daily Pennsylvanian
The Penn men's soccer team managed a 1-1 draw in its match against Dartmouth yesterday, in a game that was a tale of two halves.
The first 45 minutes saw the Quakers (6-2-2, 2-0-1 Ivy) dominate the field, winning balls in the air and keeping possession on the ground.
In the second half, however, the Big Green (3-1-6, 1-0-2) reclaimed momentum on its home turf, and eked out a goal with only three minutes left in the game.
"We played well in the first half, got a very, very good goal to go up 1-0; we really felt like we were in complete control of it," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said.
The goal came from the Red and Blue's leading scorer, senior midfielder Stephen Kroculick. Making a strong run across the middle of the goal box, Kroculick was able to deftly flick in a near-post cross from junior midfielder Artie Bartholomew.
Dartmouth goalie Rowan Anders was left helpless as Kroculick's attempt found the upper corner of the net for his fourth goal of the season.
The strike came midway through the first half, and highlighted an outstanding and dominating opening effort from the Quakers.
"We were winning a lot of the first and second balls in the air," Fuller said. "We were dealing with that pretty well, and then when we did have control of the ball, we were knocking it around pretty good."
In the second half, however, "we came out and the game turned in their favor," Fuller said.
The Big Green played a direct style of soccer, sending the ball upfield through the air as much as possible. As a result, Dartmouth was constantly putting the Quakers under pressure.
While this style does not create offensive continuity for the Big Green, one mistake by an opponent's defense can lead to a goal.
Dartmouth's offense "is very direct, and it's very difficult to deal with," Fuller said.
Penn finally cracked under Dartmouth's pressure with only three minutes remaining in the contest.
The ball was floated into the goal box, and the Quakers could not immediately clear it. In the ensuing melee in front of Penn's net, Dartmouth sophomore Lucas Richardson was able to poke the ball past Penn keeper Daniel Cepero.
After holding Dartmouth scoreless for almost the entire game, the Quakers could only look back in frustration at what seemed a sure three points in the Ivy League standings.
"For the most part it was a decent overall performance, but we're all disappointed not to get the win," Fuller said.
"One team was very happy with the draw, and one team was disappointed with the draw. We were not happy with coming home with the draw.
"We feel like we were the better team, and that we let them back into the game. If we had played for the full 90 minutes, we would have won without question," Fuller added.
Penn junior defenseman Erik Violante had a somewhat different outlook on the game.
"Our goal was definitely to win the game, but it isn't an easy thing to do, to win a road game in the Ivy League," Violante said. "So even though we're disappointed, at least we were able to come away with the tie."
The draw moved Penn out of sole possession of first place in the Ancient Eight. The Quakers now share the top spot with archrival Princeton, as the Tigers beat Columbia this weekend, 1-0.
PENN 1 0 0 0 -- 1Dartmouth 0 1 0 0 -- 1
Goals: 1. Kroculick (P) 24:30 (Bartholomew);
2. Richardson (D) 89:57 (unassisted)
