PRINCETON, NJ - When kicker Peter Stine took the field for a 23-yard field goal attempt against Princeton in the first quarter, the stage was set for the sprint football call-up to be the hero.
Coach Al Bagnoli hoped that the senior would bring the Quakers out of their kicking slump, but when the ball hit the right post, it was clear that Penn's kicking woes could not be solved so easily.
"For whatever reasons, we just can't seem to make chip-shot plays," Bagnoli said. "We hit the upright in the first quarter, and if that goes through, we win it in regulation and don't have to take it to overtime."
Stine's troubles continued when he came in for an extra-point kick in the second quarter. The senior was hit by Princeton defensive back J.J. Artis after making the extra point, resulting in a penalty for roughing the kicker.
Stine struck his head against the Tigers' turf and lied on the field in pain for several minutes before he was helped off the field.
But after sitting for a few minutes, the kicker's pain worsened, and he was taken off the field on a stretcher. Stine was transported immediately to University Medical Center at Princeton, with a chief complaint of pain and tingling in his arms. His status is not yet known.
This left the kicking duties to wideout Braden Lepisto - who started in-game kicking for the Quakers last weekend against Brown - as Derek Zoch didn't dress.
Lepisto's line-drive 38-yard field goal in the third quarter may not have been pretty, but it was Penn's first good attempt in six tries.
The junior went on to convert on the Quakers' next two extra-point attempts, doing more than his share to help force the game into overtime.
But if Penn thought the special teams troubles started and ended with the place kicker, the overtime result proved otherwise.
In the first overtime, the Quakers had a chance to score first on a field goal attempt from the Princeton 3.
After a good snap, holder Matt Reinert fumbled the ball as he tried to put it down. With no other option, Lepisto was forced to try and run it into the end zone, and he never got close.
In the second overtime, Lepisto prepared to kick the game-tying extra point, but long snapper Ted Rosenbaum's snap hit the ground in front of Reinert. All he could do was try to run the ball for the conversion, but he was easily contained by Princeton.
The debacle is just the latest chapter in what has been a continuing saga of heartbreaking results despite valiant efforts from the rest of the team.
Penn's Achilles' heel is known throughout the league and influenced the Tigers' in-game preparation.
"I really wasn't thinking about Penn [going into overtime], other than the fact that probably their strategy would be to go for it more on fourth down because they'd had so many problems with their kicking," Princeton coach Roger Hughes said.
Although the special teams squad has had many chances at redemption to win big games, its untimely failure is difficult to reconcile, especially in light of dashed hopes of an Ivy title.
"It's been the tale of this whole season with the kicking game," Bagnoli said. "It's very ironic that three field goals, the longest of which has been from the six-yard line, separates us from being unbeaten to where we are now."
