Goalkeeper Kevin Sweetland may have thrown his name back into the starting mix with his performance last Saturday against Princeton.
The sophomore, who was the Opening Day starter, ably manned the net. He replaced junior Drew Healy, who had been the regular starter for the Quakers this season.
The only goal that Sweetland gave up during the game was due to the defense not "[giving] him a chance" to make a play on the ball, according to coach Rudy Fuller.
Other than that one score, Sweetland was sound when given the opportunity, keeping Penn within a goal of Princeton by stifling two great scoring opportunities for the Tigers in the second half - one chance after a corner kick by Ben Burton and another on a breakaway.
With this strong showing by Sweetland, the Quakers will be left with the question of who becomes the regular starter ending this season and going into next one. The same issue plagued the Quakers just three months ago. Three goalkeepers, Healy, Sweetland, and freshman Ben Berg were in the mix, with no clear favorite separating himself from the pack.
Sweetland got the nod initially, but he gave up five goals in a shaky performance against Seton Hall in his first showing of the season.
He suffered a thigh bruise in the second half of that game, which cleared up the goalkeeper situation, at least temporarily, for the Quakers.
In 12 starts, Healy allowed an average of 1.49 goals per game and a .708 save percentage.
He allowed three goals in his last start against Brown on Oct. 27.
After the Princeton game, however, the picture may be growing a little more murky.
"You've just always got to be prepared to play. If you're the starter, if you're the backup, or even if you're the third keeper, you got to be mentally prepared like the starter," Healy said about the goalie situation.
"All of us, myself, Sweetland, and [freshman Ben] Berg prepare for every game as if we were starting," he said.
With Healy sticking around for one more year, and Sweetland staying for another two, this problem could be a recurring theme for the Quakers in the future.
