Penn men's soccer squanders opportunity vs. Brown

Playing in a game that Rudy Fuller had earlier described as one where “if you don’t win it, [you] don’t deserve to be [Ivy League] champions,” Penn men’s soccer failed to live up to its coach’s ultimatum.

The Quakers, (6-7-2, 2-1-2 Ivy) hosted Brown Saturday night for their fifth conference battle of the season, and for the second Ivy match in a row, could leave only with a tie. Despite putting up 15 shots, Penn was forced to settle for a 1-1 result.

Penn controlled the pace of play in the early going, and received a just reward in the 19th minute of the match.

After junior midfielder Forrest Clancy rang a shot off the post, Brown (4-5-6, 1-2-2) was called for a handball in the penalty box during the fight for the rebound. Senior forward Duke Lacroix took advantage of the penalty kick, converting the shot to give the Quakers a 1-0 lead.

Lacroix would challenge the Bears’ keeper, Mitch Kupstas, all night long. He placed two more shots on goal, including a rocket that Kupstas just managed to parry aside in the 23rd minute.

“In the attack, we created a number of quality chances,” Fuller said. “They just didn’t fall for us.”

Brown would come roaring back late in the first half. Aptly-named junior forward Will Cross got his head to a corner kick in the 42nd minute, pushing it past Penn goalie Max Polkinhorne to level the score heading into the second half.

Polkinhorne would be pressed into near-constant duty in the second half, being called upon to make six saves. With about 30 seconds left in regulation, he swallowed up a free kick from Brown back Jason Pesek to ensure the Quakers at least a point.

“Max continues to be really a solid force in goal,” Fuller said. “He made another couple of big saves for us Saturday night. It’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to get him the win.”

But Penn could only manage just that — a point. The Red and Blue got off only one shot on goal over the course of two overtime periods, ensuring a second consecutive draw against an inferior opponent following last week’s 1-1 tie with Ivy cellar-dweller Yale.

“It’s a little bit frustrating because I was confident that if we could just take care of what we could control and win games, that would put us in a good position to win the league,” Fuller said.

With two games to play, Penn now sits in a third-place tie with Harvard, two points behind Princeton and Dartmouth. The Quakers will travel to Princeton next week and then close out the season at home against Harvard, knowing full well that they can no longer afford to squander any more must-win games.

“The positive is that we’re in the exact same spot we were going into the weekend — we’re essentially one of four teams that are still in the hunt for the title,” Fuller said. “And we’re going to be able to determine our fate in large part due to the fact that we finish with Princeton and Harvard.”

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