M. Soccer Drops Final Game at Penn

Before this weekend, the last time Penn captain Henry Chen and the Quakers won an Ivy League contest was on Sept. 13, 1997. Chen was a freshman defender making his collegiate debut, and he could not have imagined a more perfect scenario than shutting out Harvard, 1-0.

"It was a great feeling, and I have been holding on to that as motivation to get more Ivy League wins," Chen said.

Three years, 27 games and one coach later, the Quakers (6-10-1, 1-5-1 Ivy) finally re-captured that winning feeling as they toppled free-falling Harvard (7-9-1, 1-6), 2-1, in both teams' season finale. With the loss, the Crimson completed its season with its sixth consecutive loss and a last-place finish in the Ivy League.

Crimson freshman midfielder Ladd Fritz was the only Harvard player to tally a goal.

Penn freshman Louis Lazar jumpstarted the Quaker attack with a textbook goal at the 27:31 mark of the first half. After receiving a feed from midfielder Alex Maasry, Lazar blasted a shot past Crimson goalkeeper Dan Mejias from just outside the 18-yard box.

Lazar's goal was his first of the season and could not have come at a better time for a Penn squad that had been shut out in three of its previous four games.

While Penn had the better of play for much of the first half, Harvard quickly raised its own level of play in the second half. With momentum clearly belonging to the Crimson, Fritz beat Quaker keeper Jeff Groeber with the equalizing tally in the 63rd minute.

"During the second half we started to play the way we like to," said Harvard freshman back Isaac Kim. "We were knocking the ball around and had a lot of clear-cut breakaways."

As the Crimson attackers escalated their pressure, it seemed like only a matter of time before Harvard would convert the go-ahead goal. Harvard fired 13 shots in the second half and, during a particularly offensive five-minute span, created three point-blank opportunities.

Groeber was solid in goal, however, and kept the game tied at 1-1 until teammate Sam Chamovitz notched the game-winner late in the half.

Evan Anderson dribbled through the Crimson defense before laying it off for an opportunistic Chamovitz, who knocked the ball over Mejias' head.

"It was a mental mistake to let them score," Kim said. "We were trying to salvage some pride and a .500 record for the seniors, but obviously that didn't happen."

The three Crimson seniors--captain Ryan Kelly, Matt Edwards, and Wells Mangrum--will have to deal with the disappointment of watching the team's initially promising season end in a six-game slide.

For Penn's Chen and his classmates, the sweet sensation of winning an Ivy League contest has finally returned.

Chen's first and last games as a Quaker ended in triumph over the Crimson. No matter how much pain he endured during three years and 27 fruitless Ivy games, the senior captain now has 90 minutes of memories that will last him a lifetime.