If someone said that Penn beat Penn at the men's soccer game on Saturday, one probably might look at them funny. But to an extent, it's true. With the freshman phenom, Russell Penn, on their side, the Big Green made their 2-0 shutout over the Quakers look like a cakewalk.
But of course, Russell Penn wasn't the only one turning the tricks for Dartmouth, now 2-1 (1-0 Ivy).
The Big Green dominated the game right from the start, as they kept the ball sealed in Penn territory for much of the game.
In the first half, the Big Green swarmed the Quaker zone and fired about half a dozen shots from outside the 18 yard line. Despite some impressive saves by the Penn keeper, conventional wisdom said it was just a matter of time before the Big Green would nail the net.
Meanwhile, back in Dartmouth territory, starting keeper Matt Streng '98 never missed a beat. Two and a half minutes into the game Streng set the pace with a post-to-post slide to send a would-be goal for Penn sailing wide.
The second half was more of the same story -- only this time the Big Green started to come together just as the Quakers were falling apart.
It was time for the seniors to start working their magic. With Augie Lopez '97 and David Moran '96 up front, Methembe Ndlovu '97 in the middle, and Noah Waterhouse '97 behind them, Penn might as well have boarded the bus right then and there.
Following a quick rush from the midfield, Ndlovu lofted a nice cross to a streaking Lopez. Lopez carried 15 yards, looked up and blasted a rocket past the Penn keeper to put the Big Green up by one.
"Methembe really lifted the team in the second half," Coach Fran O'Leary said. "He set up some great opportunities for us out there."
After Lopez's goal, the other two seniors refused to be outshined. With five minutes remaining on the clock, Waterhouse barreled down the sideline and sent a long pass towards the middle to Moran. Moran then posted up in front of the Penn goalie and dummied as sophomore Alan Lemley trailed to knock in the final goal.
"I think we wore [Penn] down with our persistence," Lemley said. "When I entered the game in the closing minutes, my legs were fresh so it wasn't so hard to get by the defense."
Whatever it was that put the Big Green over the top this weekend, O'Leary is happy with the results. "We're delighted to have won our Ivy opener," he said. "It's always great to start the season off on a positive note."
In their next match-up versus Princeton, the men's squad may face their stiffest competition yet. The Tigers, with a spot in the preseason top-20 rankings and the loss of just one starter from last season, are looking to be tough this season.
But then, so are the Big Green.
