M. Soccer | Shok and awe: Bears declawed

For five years, the men's soccer team had been humiliated time and time again by Brown, going winless while failing to score in the process.

But at Rhodes Field on Saturday, the Quakers returned the favor. Led by two goals from Omid Shokoufandeh, the Quakers beat the Bears, 4-0, in an unexpectedly one-sided affair that propelled them into a tie for first place.

"To beat a team that kinda had been a thorn in our side for the past few years was just a great, great feeling," said senior goalkeeper Drew Healy, who recorded his ninth shutout of the season, one shy of the program record.

Shokoufandeh opened the scoring in the 10th minute on a penalty kick, after senior midfielder Kevin Unger was taken down in the box.

"I give the referee a lot of credit in calling the foul," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. "You know, I thought it was a foul, but I was surprised he called it."

Indeed, referee Bill Dittmar raised a few eyebrows - and more than a few cards - throughout the evening. The game was physical, featuring a combined 33 fouls, seven yellow cards and one red (to Penn's Jason Gorskie); Brown's Darren Howerton was also given the heave-ho in the 20th minute for his second yellow.

The tight officiating could've played right into the Bears' hands. The limited offense they generate comes from their restart game, and Penn's backline is known for being physical. But the defenders remained disciplined, and the rest of the Quakers weren't thrown off guard.

"Sometimes you face teams that do that, but you do what you can to make it a soccer game, and that's what we're about," Shokoufandeh said. "We're not about making it just hitting and running."

Shokoufandeh provided his fair share of quality soccer. Fourteen minutes after his first tally, he added another off an assist from senior Andrew Ferry, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Ferry added a score of his own in the second half after winning a 50-50 battle with the keeper, and sophomore Loukas Tasigianis padded the lead late. But Shokoufandeh gave Healy more than enough to work with.

The senior keeper was pleased with the way he and the defenders limited the Bears' restart game.

"I felt I controlled my box really well," he said. "I took that aspect of the game away from them. And when you make a team first one-dimensional, and then you start to take that aspect away, they looked toothless on attack."

Penn (10-2-3, 4-1 Ivy) is now tied with Harvard atop the Ancient Eight, with 12 points apiece after the Crimson's surprise loss to Dartmouth. After visiting Princeton next weekend, the Quakers host their compatriots from Cambridge, Mass., in the season finale.

"Brown's a good team and that was a very good win," Fuller said, "but championships aren't won and tournament berths aren't earned in the first week in November."

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