Alec Neumann goal gives Penn men's soccer double overtime win over Saint Joe's, 2-1

For Penn men’s soccer, defeating Saint Joseph’s is not an ordinary victory.

In what was one of Penn’s most unforgettable and telling triumphs of the season, sophomore forward Alec Neumann was able to find the mark and score the game-winning goal in double overtime. The Quakers won the match, 2-1, to become Philadelphia Soccer Six champions.

The Red and Blue (4-4) were able to get an early goal after controlling possession in the first half. After 25 minutes of back and forth play, senior forward Duke Lacroix opened the game’s scoring off the rebound of a shot from Neumann. That momentum continued throughout the first half.

Coach Rudy Fuller approved of his team’s play in the first 45 minutes.

“I thought we came out with a lot of energy,” he said. “I thought we were really sharp at the beginning of the game. We put them under a lot of pressure.

“We controlled the game in those first 45 minutes. And then they came out of the second half flying.”

It took only three minutes in the second half before Saint Joe’s (5-2-3) would notch the equalizer off of a bicycle kick from junior Emmanuel Temeh. The Hawks continued to put up shots before and after the goal. After many quality chances from both sides, regulation ended with the score tied, 1-1.

At the beginning of the second overtime, junior goalkeeper Max Polkinhorne had a tremendous diving save to keep the game tied. Just a few moments later, a pass from freshman back Luka Martinovic to Neumann resulted in a header that ended the match.

“Luka got the ball out wide, picked his head up,” Neumann said. “Duke made a run. The defenders followed him so I snuck back-post undetected and it was a perfect ball right to my head.”

However, the win would not have been possible without some help from the defense. In a game that lasted over 102 minutes, the defense remained stout, never causing a breakaway on Polkinhorne.

“It’s always going to be hard but at the same time you want to win games,” senior back Kamar Saint Louis said about the defense’s effort late in the game. “So you work hard and dig deep and do whatever it takes.”

With Ivy League play right around the corner, the team does not have much time to celebrate its Philadelphia Soccer Six championship. However, Fuller congratulated his team and admitted that the team will ultimately have more confidence because of the result.

“Well it’s huge, because that game had the feel of an Ivy League game,” he said. “To come out on top gives us a lot of confidence going into the game on Saturday.”

“It’s similar to last year when we beat Drexel at home right before Ivies,” Neumann added. “We dropped a couple of tough games this year that we could’ve won but we’re looking forward to the next game and this was a good physical test. This is exactly like what Cornell is going to be like.”

Penn will be on the road for its next game at Cornell on Saturday. It will be the first of Penn’s seven Ivy League matches this season and its importance cannot be understated.

“We know we can go the distance with any team and it was good to get the team going before Cornell,” Saint Louis said. “[Cornell’s] a hard place to play. But we have guys who have been through this before and should be able to handle it fine. We have the edge.”

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