Penn’s match against Lehigh Tuesday night defined the term ‘aerial display’ in a soccer game.
Due to Lehigh’s reliance on the long throw, Penn’s back line and freshman goalkeeper Max Kurtzman had to deal with constant pressure from balls thrown around the goal throughout the match.
“It was difficult to make it into a soccer game,” Penn coach Rudy Fuller said.
Though the Quakers, for the most part, dealt with the unique challenge, Penn could only return home with a 1-1 tie against Lehigh (4-2-5, 1-1-1 Patriot).
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After having to come back from a two-goal deficit against Columbia on Saturday in New York, Penn (6-4-2, 1-1 Ivy) applied early pressure to avoid falling into the same situation.
The Red and Blue struck six minutes into the match, when senior Christian Barreiro’s free kick found the net from 28 yards out.
“That was a world-class free kick,” Fuller said. “I’m not sure anyone could have made a save on that ball.”
Late in the first half, Lehigh came close to tying the match with two headers, but Kurtzman was up for the challenge.
“If you’re looking at the players of the game, it’s the guys against the back four and Max in goal,” Fuller said. “They constantly had to deal with balls being served into them.”
Kurtzman made five saves and kept the game under control despite being under duress for much of the night.
In the second half, a Lehigh equalizer began to seem all but inevitable, as the Mountain Hawks maintained strong pressure in Penn’s third for much of the frame.
With 10 minutes remaining, Lehigh junior Cameron Omsberg finally solved Kurtzman, finishing a corner into the net.
“We never want to let up a goal,” Kurtzman said. “And to let up a goal in this game, honestly, was a letdown.”
The Quakers were without senior defender Jake Levin and sophomore striker Stephen Baker for the match. Levin sat after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season on Saturday against Columbia, while Baker was scratched due to an injury.
“Not having Steve is a big, big loss, since he’s so dynamic up top.” Kurtzman said. “And not having Jake creates a different dynamic for the team, since we’re without his presence on the field and his leadership.”
Given the circumstances surrounding the match, from Lehigh’s unorthodox offense to Penn’s augmented lineup, Fuller was content.
“We’ll take it and move on,” he said.
