This marks the second time in two years that Penn (4-4, 1-0 Ivy) — who came into the match ranked 16th in the latest USILA media poll — had a winning streak cut short at the hands of the No. 18 Hawks (6-2). ld, the Quakers could not keep up the success, losing to Saint Joseph’s 11-10.
This marks the second time in two years that Penn (4-4, 1-0 Ivy) — who came into the match ranked 16th in the latest USILA media poll — had a winning streak cut short at the hands of the No. 18 Hawks (6-2). Last season, Penn had won four straight before a 12-7 defeat, also at Franklin Field.
The game’s fast pace would be set from the opening seconds, as freshman faceoff specialist Stevie Davis attempted a shot following the opening faceoff. It went wide, but the Hawks’ first shot — by Ryan Bradley after he intercepted a Quaker pass and ran the length of the field — found the back of the net. Penn immediately answered as sophomore attacker Chris Patterson scored with less than 10 seconds on the shot clock of Penn’s next possession to tie the game.
The first two goals would set a pattern that lasted for most of the first half. St. Joe’s would take a lead, and the Quakers would quickly tie the game back up. In the second quarter, though, the Hawks scored thrice in quick succession and took an 8-5 lead. Penn was able to score the last two goals of the first half and head into the break only trailing by one goal.
Several of St. Joe’s goals in the first half were due to self-inflicted mistakes by the Quakers. A pair of them occurred in transition, and others took place immediately after penalties or turnovers, such as failing to cross midfield in time or having too many players in the offensive zone.
“Winning the transition game, no fast breaks … there’s a bunch of stuff in here that we talked about doing and we just didn’t do a good job of executing the game plan,” coach Mike Murphy said postgame. “We had a scouting report. We knew what their strengths are. We talked about not fouling and not giving transition [chances]. We just didn’t execute.”
At halftime, and throughout the game, the two teams were relatively equal in most statistical categories. The Quakers had more shots, while the Hawks’ attempts were more likely to be on target. Senior goalkeeper Emmet Carroll had more than twice as many saves as his counterpart, Tommy Gross. In terms of faceoffs, a combination of Davis and sophomore faceoff specialist Will Roberts controlled 2 of 6 draws, with Davis going 10 for 18.
“It’ll be those two primarily moving forward,” Murphy said of Davis and Roberts. “Last game [Roberts] was a bit better, this game [Stevie] was better. … We’ll see how that plays out. A little bit depends on the opponent and stuff.”
Following a first half dominated by both teams’ offensive, the game slowed significantly in the third quarter. Neither team scored for the first 10 minutes of the second half, despite a plethora of chances. Carroll made a crucial short-range save on an early St. Joe’s possession, but the Quakers could not find the back of the net. The Hawks’ Braedon Chayes broke the drought, putting them up by two, but senior attacker Ben Smith — who finished the game with four goals — responded to make the score 9-8 headed to the fourth quarter.
There, the mistakes resurfaced for Penn and proved costly. After a slashing penalty, St. Joe’s converted the extra-man opportunity for a goal. Like clockwork, the Quakers soon scored a goal of their own, from senior attacker Cam Rubin, completing his own hattrick on the afternoon. Both teams then made crucial defensive stands in order to keep the game locked at a one-goal Hawks lead. The stalemate broke with just over three minutes to go, when St. Joe’s scored to go up 11-9.
Despite the two-goal deficit, Penn did not give up. Around one minute later, Smith scored to bring the game within one. With 60 seconds left to play, the Quakers regained possession and Murphy called a timeout to set up a play, hoping to tie the game in the final minute. However, this was not to be, and the Hawks held on to secure a narrow victory.
“The defense played better [in the second half],” Murphy said. “But unfortunately, we slowed down on the offensive end too … we need to be a little cleaner.”
Aside from a season-ending trip to Notre Dame, this defeat wraps up Penn’s non-conference season. The Quakers’ next five games will be against Ivy League opponents, beginning when they host Dartmouth this Saturday evening.
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