Penn Booters Grab First League Title

The University of Pennsylvania stomped Cornell, 2-0, before 4000 fans last Saturday at Franklin Field to clinch its first outright Ivy League Soccer Championship.

If Penn had failed to defeat Cornell, the Ivy crown would have been shared by Harvard, Cornell and Penn.

Both of Penn's tallies came in the second half of the game. "The second half was all Penn, just like the Harvard game." Penn coach Robert Seddon said yesterday.

Pennsylvania dominated every quarter except the second, taking 24 shots at the goal, compared to 11 for Cornell. Penn goalie Jim Miller registered his eighth shutout of the season, a Quaker record, while Stan Startzell and John Burke scored the goals which wrapped up the Ivy Championship.

The Quakers begin NCAA regional play today against East Stroudsburg. "Whether we win or not depends on the team and whether they're ready. It was the end of the rainbow last Saturday against Cornell," Seddon said. He added that Stroudsburg's defense has yielded only five goals this season.

Seddon predicted that Harvard would easily triumph over it's first NCAA opponent, Southern Connecticut, and go on to win the New England and New York-New England playoffs.

He is also confident that his team will take the Mid-Atlantic division and win and playoff with the Southern district champion for a spot in the semi-finals in Miami, Fla. If Harvard wins its first three games, it will face Penn in the Miami semi-finals.

Sedoon said he was almost certain that Harvard and Penn would meet in the semi-finals. "If we do, I think we'll beat Harvard. We're a better ball club. I don't think it was just the surface when we beat them last time." Harvard players claimed they were hampered in their loss to Penn earlier this season by the unfamiliar "poly-turf" surface in the Pennsylvania stadium.

"They'll have to play us on the same surface in Miami's Orange Bowl," Seddon said. He added that "Harvard is a beautiful ball club. That (Phil) Kydes is really a winner."