Down a man in double overtime, with an opportunity to turn its season around, Penn men’s soccer pressed Yale, leaving its strong back line with only three defenders. Then disaster struck.
At the 105th minute, Yale forward Charlie Paris scored an easy goal on a short pass inside the box, effectively ending Penn’s hopes for a title in a 2-1 loss.
The Quakers (6-6-2, 1-3) had put up an heroic effort, managing to tie the game after they were reduced to 10 players on a red card against senior midfielder Nick Unger at the 78th minute.
“It was a soft red,” coach Rudy Fuller said. “But it’s the referee’s job to make decisions, and we have to abide by them.”
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Five minutes later, fans were literally shaking the stands as midfielder Christian Barreiro placed a perfect free kick in Yale’s net.
“I’m beginning to wonder if we should start games with 10 men because once again we have a call go against us in a big way and these guys digged their heels and carried the game,” Fuller said.
Barreiro, who now has scored in four-straight games, once again carried a strong offense that failed to produce on numerous occasions.
“You have a situation where we’re talking at halftime and feeling like we should be up two goals if not three,” Fuller said.
“Our guys feel like they once again did more than enough to win and the game can be cruel that way,” he added.
Senior defender Jake Levin was particularly emotional after the game.
“It’s disappointing … we should have put more in the first half, we’ve had several chances to put them away,” he said.
At the 26th minute, freshman Duke Lacroix’s curled ball lobbed over the opposing goalkeeper and landed on the crossbar.
The one-two punch of Lacroix and Barreiro was wreaking havoc in the Elis’ 18, combining for 14 shots, including five on goal. Yale only had 16 shots overall.
But the Bulldogs (7-5-2, 3-1 Ivy) took advantage of their chances. At the 57th minute, Dennen put Yale up, 1-0, on a pass by defender Marcus DiLallo.
“The first goal came from a really hard run from a midfielder, and we got caught stepping up with our forwards as they checked back to the ball,” described Levin.
“To get a soft goal like that is really demoralizing for the team,” he added.
There was a sense of relief when Barreiro tied the game, saving the season for another 20 minutes.
“We knew this is the game of our season,” Levin said. “I’m proud of our effort and you can tell that this hurts a lot. … There’s added urgency when you’re a senior.”
After tying the game, the Quakers stayed aggressive and played for the win until the end.
Next week, the Red and Blue will play spoiler against fourth-place Brown in Providence.
“It’s a tradition that’s longstanding here,” Levin said “and we’re not going to let down just because we have three Ivy losses.”
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