Dartmouth Men's Soccer Tops Penn, 2-1

Sunday, October 15

Hanover, N.H.

12:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Penn

10/15/2006 1:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

Hanover, N.H. – The Dartmouth men's soccer team defeated Penn, 2-1 this afternoon, handing the Quakers their first Ivy League loss. The Big Green improved to 4-5-3 (2-1-1 Ivy) while the Quakers dropped to 7-3-1 (3-1 Ivy).

“This was a do or die situation for us and I think both teams took an agressive approach,” said Dartmouth Head Coach Jeff Cook.

The Big Green came out on the positive side of an evenly-matched battle, holding a marginal advantage in shots taken, 13-12. Dartmouth made its shots count, however, scoring two goals to earn its second league victory in a critical contest.

Rookie defender Pumi Maqubela (Andover, Mass.) put Dartmouth on the board in the 20th minute, scoring his first collegiate goal on a header off a cross from junior Mike Ordonez (Coral Gables, Fla.).

Penn had a chance to even the score in the 32nd minute when Ryan Tracy took a hard shot from close range, but senior goalkeeper Rowan Anders (Qualicum Beach, BC) punched the ball away. The Quakers kept attacking and managed to get the equalizer six minutes later, at 38:40. Mike Klein took a corner kick and Kevin Unger headed it in from the edge of the box to the left corner of the goal, tying the game at 1-1.

Early in the second half, the Big Green defense spoiled an opportunity for the Quakers by forming a wall to slow a free kick attempt, then saved by Anders.

Dartmouth turned it around on a fast breakaway in the 53rd minute as junior Nick Christman (Falmouth, Mass.) crossed the ball into the box and rookie Daniel Keat (Wellington, New Zealand) slid, catching the ball and sending it into the goal. It was Keat's team-leading fifth goal of the seaon.

Penn had a great scoring opportunity in the 65th minute, with Anders down away from the goal. Unger took a wide open shot from close range and junior midfielder Brian Lappas (Hillsborough, N.C.) blocked it.

“Our back four played a tremendous game and I think it is a testament to the character of this team to beat a great team like Penn despite the injuries that we had.”

The Big Green held on for the remainder of the hotly contested contest, winning 2-1.

Anders finished with four saves in goal while Penn's Daniel Cepero had two.

The Big Green will host Boston College on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.