In an even match from the opening whistle to the end of double overtime, the Brown Bears battled Penn to a 1-1 draw Saturday.
Forward Matthew Chow ’20 gave the Bears a lead early in the second half, but Brown couldn’t find the game-winner after the Quakers evened the score off a penalty kick toward the end of regulation play. The result pushes Brown to 3-8-4 on the season and 1-1-3 in Ivy League play.
“It was a classic, hard-fought Ivy League match, with both teams playing a must-win game to continue having the chance of winning the Ivy League,” said Rodrigo D’Andrea ’20.
The Bears came out strong and fast in the opening period, controlling play on the attack and keeping Penn (6-5-3, 2-1-2) on their toes. But, although the Bears created many opportunities, they failed to find the back of the net. The left-wing duo of co-captains Jackson Goebel ’20 and Daniel Schiller ’20 dominated the sideline, passing back and forth to elude the Quaker defense.
Schiller consistently overwhelmed his matched defender down the sideline and sent countless dangerous balls across the face of the net. While these balls largely went unfinished, the Bears maintained possession, commanding the speed and intensity of play.
After Brown made a center-midfield substitution in the middle of the first half, Penn gained momentum, increasing their ferocity to match that of the Bears. The Quakers were able to obstruct the Bruno attack by dominating air balls that came through the center of the field.
The first half passed scoreless, although the Bears held a modest 9-8 shot advantage at halftime. Goalkeeper Max Waldau ’22 turned away three shots in the opening period.
In the 51st minute, the Bears took the lead off a corner kick goal from Chow. The forward sent a corner kick into the box, curling it in off the back post and into the net uncontested for his third goal of the season.
“We were able to create our best chances off counter-attack plays in the second half,” D’Andrea said. “But after scoring our goal, we could have done a better job (of) keeping the ball and controlling the game.”
Penn responded in the 65th minute for the equalizing goal. A foul called on the Bruno defender Will Mims ’21in the 18-yard box gave the Quakers a penalty kick opportunity. Waldau saved the penalty kick, but the ball remained in play and the Quaker attack charged the goal. The ball bounced around the box while the Bears fought to clear it, but Penn defender Alex Touche was able to find the back of the net just under the crossbar.
The Bears fought hard in the final 20 minutes to regain the lead, but the Quakers held the home team off the board to send the contest into overtime. D’Andrea nearly took the game for the Bears in the 84th minute, taking on three defenders and putting a shot on goal that was saved by the Penn netminder.
Both teams came out strong and fast in the first overtime period. The Bears kept the Quakers in their own half for the greater part of the stanza, but they were unable to find the winning shot.
“We went into overtime with high energy, creating dangerous chances on net,” said Jack Hagstrom ’19.5. “But we just couldn’t quite take the game.”
After 110 minutes of aggressive play, the evenly-matched competition ended in a draw. The Bears outshot the Quakers 18-16, putting four shots on goal. The Bears also earned a 9-8 advantage in corners. Chow outpaced everyone on the field, taking six shots and two shots on goal for the Bears.
“We played very well as a team, especially defensively, and we were unlucky to give up that penalty kick,” Mims said. “But we are getting better every single day and look forward to finishing the season out on a good note.”
The Bears will travel to New Haven Saturday to take on first-placed Yale in their second-to-last Ivy League matchup.
“I’m very proud of everyone’s effort, the team fought for 110 minutes and there’s a lot of positives to take out of this game and implement in the last two games of the season against Yale and Dartmouth,” D’Andrea said.
