The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

10162011_footballvscolumbiarachel417
Penn football beats Columbia 27 to 20 at Columbia 10/15/11 Credit: Rachel Bleustein , Rachel Bleustein

With Penn’s fall sports nearing or passing the halfway points of their seasons, we check in with football, men’s soccer and women’s soccer in part two of our “State of Penn’s Sports Union.”

Football

Team MVP: Senior linebacker David Park

Park has 15 tackles on the season, including two sacks. In the memorable four-overtime game against Dartmouth, Park forced and recovered a fumble that he returned 84 yards for a touchdown. Park also blocked Dartmouth’s potential game-winning field goal at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime.

Strengths: Penn has 15 sacks on the season — good for third-best in the Ivy League — and an additional 13 tackles for loss. The team had 19 sacks in total all of last season. Sophomore defensive end Austin Taps and senior defensive back Sam Chwarzynski lead the team with three sacks each while Park and sophomore defensive end Tyler Drake have two sacks. Turnover-wise, the Quakers have forced eight fumbles, recovering four of them, and have four interceptions on the season as well.

Weaknesses: This season, the O-line has struggled to create running lanes and protect the quarterback. Penn is averaging just 2.8 yards per carry, as well as just 112 yards per game on the ground, compared to almost 150 yards per game last season. The team has also given up 17 sacks, tied for most in the Ivy League. The Quakers’ offense has also turned the ball over seven times, including three lost fumbles, which equals the total lost fumbles by the team all of last season. The Quakers are just 3-7 on field goals, with the longest made attempt at just 39 yards.

*What to Watch Out For: *Penn’s ability to wreak havoc in opponent’s backfields and their ball-hawking prowess will prove invaluable in its Ivy League schedule going forward. The Quakers’ offensive woes are largely a byproduct of playing three tough nonconference teams, so look for the rushing attack and pass protection to pick up in the next few games. Look for senior defensive backs Sebastian Jaskowski and Dan Wilk to continue to anchor Penn’s secondary, which is giving up just 228 passing yards per game. Expect a win at Columbia this weekend, but tough matchups are on the horizon against Yale and Brown before the long-awaited matchups with Princeton and Harvard come November.

Men’s Soccer

Team MVP: Junior forward Duke Lacroix

Lacroix’s four goals are tied with freshman Sam Hayward for most on the team. He is a team captain and has one assist on the season, a well-placed cross that senior captain Jonny Dolezal scored for the game-winning goal against Cornell. Lacroix scored goals in losses against Villanova and Florida Gulf Coast, and he also scored a critical goal against Drexel.

Strengths: The Red and Blue top the Ivy League with 17 goals and sit tied with Brown atop the league with 14 assists. The Quakers also lead the Ivy League with 146 shot attempts and seven different players have scored for the Quakers thus far. Freshman forwards Sam Hayward and Alec Neumann have combined for six goals on the season, with Hayward scoring two goals in the win against Drexel. Freshmen Matt Poplawski and Travis Pillon have also contributed in the midfield.

Weaknesses: The Quakers have struggled with keeping opponents from scoring late in games. Both Cal Poly and Villanova scored two goals in the final 20 minutes of the match to steal victory from the Quakers, and the team lost two matches by game-winning goals in overtime. The Quakers have also failed to capitalize on goal-scoring opportunities, including several missed chances against Villanova and even a missed potential game-winning penalty kick against Columbia.

What to Watch Out For: Look for Lacroix and senior forward Stephen Baker to continue providing offensive opportunities, and expect senior back and captain Jonny Dolezal to help the Quakers eliminate some of the defensive errors made earlier in the season as the team begins the gauntlet of Ivy play. The Quakers have already tied last season’s lone Ivy League victory, and the team is fully capable of notching more wins in conference play.

Women’s Soccer

*Team MVP: *Senior forward Kerry Scalora

Scalora leads the team with five goals and three assists. Her 13 points are fifth-best in the Ivy League. And Scalora has three game-winning goals, including game-winning penalty kick scores against Cornell and Navy.

Strengths: The five goals the Quakers allowed through their first 11 games were best in the Ivy League and eighth best in all of Division I. The team has allowed a goal in just three out of 12 games this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Kalijah Terilli leads the Ivy League with six shutouts and has 19 saves thus far.

Weaknesses: The Quakers started the season 4-0, but then the team did not record a win for four games. Ties against Old Dominion, William & Mary and Lehigh and a loss at Harvard made the season appear to be slipping away, but the Quakers rebounded with four straight wins, including conference victories against Cornell and Columbia. Although the team is on a winning streak, the Quakers’ inconsistency may haunt them in crucial games against Brown and Yale.

*What to Watch Out For: *Look for the Quakers’ defense to continue stifling opponents, and more shutouts might be in the wings for this streaking Penn squad. Freshman back Tahirih Nesmith, sophomore forward Elissa Berdini and junior forward Megan York will also be critical offensive factors for the team going forward. Expect the Red and Blue to be competitive in the chase for the Ivy crown. The team is in third place in the conference standings with a crucial matchup against Brown coming up on Nov. 2.

Comments powered by Disqus

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.