Senior goalkeeper Scott Forbes earned another clean sheet against UMBC, lowering his goals against average to just .690.
Credit: Chase SuttonAfter 110 minutes of play at Rhodes Field on Tuesday night, Penn men’s soccer still couldn’t break its month-long scoreless streak.
Coming off a 2-0 loss to Columbia, the Quakers were unable to get anything past UMBC, drawing the Retrievers 0-0. Penn (2-3-4, 0-2 Ivy) could not convert any of its 11 shots and put just one shot on goal.
From the opening whistle, neither team had an edge. Both UMBC (5-4-2) and Penn took four shots in the first half, but all of them sailed over the crossbar. Possession was identically split throughout the game, and both UMBC goalkeeper Ciaran O’Loughlin and Penn senior Scott Forbes made difficult saves amidst much commotion in front of the goal.
About midway through the second half, UMBC pushed forward offensively. The Retrievers kept the pressure on the Quakers, pouring in five shots in a three-minute span. However, just one of those was on frame, as a hard shot by striker Cesare Marconi forced Forbes to make a diving stop.
Penn began to turn the momentum back a few minutes later, as junior midfielder Dami Omitaomu bolted towards the box and crossed it over to sophomore midfielder Amado Lozano, who booted the ball off the crossbar.
In overtime, both defenses stood tall, and the game ended scoreless. As the final buzzer sounded, Penn still had yet to score in over 600 minutes of play.
Penn’s lack of scoring has been frustrating to the team, but the Quakers are certainly getting their chances.
“Our whole situation isn’t because the players aren’t good enough or because they’re not in advantageous spots to score,” coach Brian Gill said. “It’s just been our ability to execute those opportunities.”
Because of the scoring troubles, Gill and his staff have turned to different players to spark the offense.
“We’re giving some [younger] guys some opportunities to step up … into new roles,” Gill said.
But despite all of the struggles, Gill still had an inspiring message for his players.
“For us, our message as a staff to our players is: keep believing, and things will come our way.”
The Quakers will travel on the road for the next three games and will look to break their scoreless streak against Dartmouth on Saturday.
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