"I'm three months ahead of schedule right now. I shouldn't even be running, according to the doctors," Penn junior forward Richard Brushett said after finally returning to action for the Penn men's soccer team this Saturday.
After fracturing his toe in a spring 2004 game against American, Brushett spent seven minutes on the field in the Quakers' 2-0 victory over Columbia.
"At first I was real lost, I came on the field and there were people running around all over the place. Then I started to calm down, I got a couple touches on the ball and I felt pretty good after that," Brushett said after the game. "It was good to get on the field, period."
Months of strenuous rehabilitation allowed Brushett to enter the second half of a game that Penn (6-2-1, 2-0-0 Ivy) decided early, care of first-half goals by senior forward David Maier and freshman Jonathon Blackwell.
The generally slow-starting Quakers jumped on the Lions (2-7-2, 0-2-0), with Maier finding the back of the net with a low driven ball that squeaked by Columbia keeper Dean Arnaoutakis only 10 minutes into the game.
Set up by a free kick from one of Columbia's many first-half fouls, the goal was Maier's first of the season.
For the next 20 minutes, neither team could gain control of the game. Columbia forward Einar Benediktsson consistently put pressure on the stout Penn defense, but Penn goalkeeper Daniel Cepero was equal to the task of protecting his net, at one point leaping to his left to make a one-handed save.
Cepero "had a world-class save today. It was just phenomenal. That was a sure goal," coach Rudy Fuller said.
The Penn offense was struggling to create meaningful chances. But the shape of the game changed with the entrance of energetic rookie substitute Blackwell. The diminutive forward raced across the field creating havoc, and eventually a scoring chance for himself.
Blackwell received the ball from senior Brian Candler just past midfield, then showed off his individual talent. He drove his defender down the middle of the field before cutting the ball hard to his right, faking the hapless Lions defender out of his Nikes.
From there, Blackwell calmly slid a worm burner past the Columbia keeper for Penn's second goal.
"We've had great contributions off the bench recently," Fuller said. "We've had people come off the bench and change games for us. Jon Blackwell did it again today."
Although Penn could not score in the second half, Fuller was more pleased by the second half of action, saying "we felt fortunate to be up 2-0 at the half. We didn't put our best foot forward, and we wanted to come out in the second half and give a better performance."
Led by strong games from junior midfielder John Rhodes and senior defender Erik Hallenbeck, the Quakers thwarted any comeback attempt by the Lions.
The victory was particularly sweet for senior Penn Matthew Waddell, a Jamaica native whose brother Scott plays for Columbia.
"It's always a thrill to play against your brother. Where I'm from, there's a whole lot of bragging rights," Waddell said.
