When Zach Barnett, Tobi Olopade and Thomas Brandt were named as the captains of the men’s soccer team, the Quakers hoped the three upperclassmen would lead the team to victories on the field.
On Friday night against No. 26 George Mason — a rematch of Penn’s 2008 first-round NCAA tournament loss two years ago — that hope literally became reality.
Locked in a 1-1 draw in the first sudden death overtime, Zach Barnett launched one of his patented long throw-ins into the box. The 6-foot-3 Olopade used his height — and a well-timed leap — to put his head on the ball. Following the deflection, Brandt dove and connected on a header of his own, redirecting the ball past goalie Dustin Butcher and into the back of the net.
Yesterday, the Quakers took home the Penn Soccer Classic trophy with another 2-1 overtime victory, beating Lafayette, this time courtesy of a Loukas Tasigianis penalty kick following a handball in the box.
In both games, Penn’s play was a tale of two halves.
Against George Mason, the Quakers struck early with a goal from freshman Stephen Baker — his fourth of the season — in the fifth minute.
“Taking the lead early is everything,” said Baker, who leads the team with nine points. “It gets you the momentum for the entire game, … and we just dominated the entire first half.”
But Penn came out flat and too relaxed in the second frame, and George Mason used a few timely substitutions and long runs over the top to break Penn out of its rhythm.
The Patriots outshot the Quakers 12-1 in the period, and only goalie Ben Berg’s six saves and overall brilliant play allowed Penn to send the game to overtime. Berg’s previous six career wins had all been shutouts.
“Ben Berg, for me, was the man of the match,” Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. “He was very solid, he was manning his box and he was keeping guys organized in front of him.”
Against the Leopards, the Red and Blue suffered an emotional hangover — and a severe case of heavy legs — as Lafayette took control from the opening whistle and gained an early 1-0 advantage on a header off of a corner kick.
It could have been even worse, but another header was waved off by the referee for a pushing foul, and later, a free kick got past Berg but deflected off of the top-right corner of the crossbar.
Fuller drew deeper than usual from the bench with six substitutes, and the Quakers took a more direct offensive approach out of the break. The increased possession and composure paid off in the 50th minute when Brandt scored his second goal of the season — and the third of his career — on a rebound one-timer.
Tasigianis delivered Penn’s second straight golden goal when he beat goalie Andrew Pianko on a penalty shot in just the second minute of overtime. Tasigianis saw Pianko take an early step to the right and deposited the ball easily into the left side of the net.
“The way I take my PK’s is I always watch the goalie,” Tasigianis said. “It’s a bit risky, but it’s worth it.”
After finishing 0-2-3 in overtime games last year, Fuller said the team is learning to win the close dogfights, even on off nights.
“It’s exciting that we get the win, however we get it,” Berg said. “I’d prefer not to have to go into overtime, but a win’s a win, and I’ll take it.”
