M. Soccer | Healy loses footing, streak

As Lehigh forward Kyle Evans took his overtime shot from 30 yards out, Penn keeper Drew Healy lost his footing on the dewey turf. The ball ricocheted off the left post and into the net for the game-winning goal.

"That's a save [Healy] makes 99 percent of the time," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said.

So with 90 seconds left in double overtime, the No. 26 Quakers lost the match, 2-1, along with their unbeaten season.

When the temperature drops in Lehigh Valley, moisture sets in. The grass at Ulrich Sports Complex took on a thin sheet of water, speeding up passes, causing players to fall, and possibly causing the first lost for the Red and Blue (7-1-3) since last November.

Penn controlled the tempo early against its Patriot League opponent, keeping the game scoreless until Alex Weisberger played a ricochet off a corner and buried a header past Healy in the 42nd minute.

After huddling for warmth at halftime, the Quakers heated up early in the second period. Five minutes in, midfielder Alex Grendi beat his man one-on-one in the corner and crossed the ball to the middle. Omid Shokoufandeh finished the play with a diving header to beat the Mountain Hawks' keeper for his team-leading sixth goal and 15th point of the season.

Despite the score, the Red and Blue said they played some of their best soccer in several games.

"We came out playing strong," Shokoufandeh said. "We dominated. It's just an unlucky event for us."

After Penn allowed six goals in its past three games against inferior opponents, the performance was encouraging to Fuller, whose squad played on two days' rest after a Saturday trip to Ithaca, N.Y.

"I walk away from the game disappointed with the result but feeling much better about our team going forward right now because of the effort we displayed tonight," Fuller said. "I think we got back to doing all the things well that made us successful early on."

Unfortunately, those little things can't control the climate in Bethlehem, Pa.

The Quakers fell minutes short of an undefeated nonconference resume after moving up to No. 26 in the CollegeSoccerNews. com rankings this week.

This Saturday, Penn returns to Rhodes Field, where it is 3-0-2. The 2-6-1 Columbia squad it faces has lost four straight.

The Quakers also take a new motivation into their next match.

"When you lose in double overtime with a minute or two minutes left, it's obviously demoralizing," Shokoufandeh said. "We don't want to feel that again."

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