Here’s a photo essay of the action.

(Photos by: Daniel Gajdamowicz)

Stephen Baker's gamewinner earned him his third Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors.

Penn

On Saturday, the No. 14 ranked Penn men’s team edged out No. 13 Brown 1-0 thanks to a nifty one-on-one goal goal from freshman Stephen Baker in the 22nd minute. (See our recap here.) The goal proved to be Penn’s only shot of the match. Benn Berg recorded the shutout with five saves. Penn is 5–0–0 in Ivy League play and tied with Princeton, to whom they travel to play on Saturday, at the top of the Ancient Eight. For the third time this season, Baker, with eight goals on the season, was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week.

The Penn women’s team defeated Brown 3–2 in overtime in a back-and-forth affair that saw Penn score first and then fall behind midway into the second half before drawing level with less than 15 minutes of regulation time left. Penn was hurt twice by set pieces, the first time from a corner kick, the second time from a free kick. Ursula Lopez-Palm scored the winner 2:01 into overtime. Junior Marin McDermott, who scored both regulation time goals and fed Lopez-Palm for the winner over Brown, was named Ivy League Player of the Week while freshman Kerry Scalora was for the third time named Rookie of the Week. The 4–1–1 record of the Penn women’s team means that a victory or a draw with 4–2–0 Princeton on Saturday will give them the Ivy League title and a bid for the NCAA College Cup.

Princeton

The No. 20 ranked Princeton men’s team secured a 1–0 won over Cornell on Saturday, thanks to a goal from sophomore Matt Sanner. Sanner’s second straight goal winner extended Princeton’s unbeaten streak to nine and would earned him Ivy League Co-Player of the Week honors. Princeton travel to Colgate for the last non-conference match of the season on Tuesday night ahead of Saturday’s match against Penn.

The Princeton women’s team topped Cornell 2–1 on Saturday off of Kalie Bartholomew’s goal six minutes into the first overtime period. Princeton will need to defeat Penn on Saturday to win the Ivy League title.

Big East

Villanova

The Villanova men’s team lost 3–1 away to No. 2 ranked University of Louisville on Saturday night. Freshman Joseph Schmid gave Villanova the early lead when he finished a series of shots that began with fellow freshman Dylan Renna’s effort. Villanova, who finished the regular season with an 8–7–3 record, including 4–3–2 in conference action, open up Big East playoff action when they host Providence at 2pm on Wednesday. The winner of that match will play Blue Division champion Georgetown on Saturday.

The Villanova women’s team snapped a seven game skid on Sunday to end their season on a high note with a 2–0 win over DePaul. Katie Ryan and Bridget O’Brien scored for the home team.

Atlantic 10

Temple

The Temple men’s team was on the road over the weekend. The trip started poorly when, after holding St. Louis scoreless in the first half, the Owls lost 3–0. The weekend concluded on a high note when Temple handed No. 16 Charlotte their first conference loss with a 2–1 double overtime win. Freshman Vaughn Spurrier’s unassisted goal in the 18th minute gave Temple the early lead. Depite being outshot 18–4 in regulation, it wasn’t until the 88th minute that Charlotte equalized to force overtime play. Tyler Witmer won it for Temple with a 108th minute goal that would also earn him Philadelphia Soccer Six Co-Player of the Week honors. Temple plays the final two games of the season at home this weekend when they host Atlantic 10 rivals George Washington and Richmond on November 5 and November 7, respectively.

While the Temple men’s team was on the road, the women finished their season by hosting St. Louis on Friday and Charlotte on Sunday. Both teams proved to be bad guests with St. Louis winning 1–0 and Charlotte winning 7–0.

La Salle's women's team earned an Atlantic 10 playoff spot with win over UMass. (Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz)

La Salle

In further Atlantic 10 action, the La Salle men’s team has been on a roll, finishing the weekend’s matches to remain unbeaten in four games. On Friday, Junior Ryan Sepe scored two goals to led the 4–2 home victory over Rhode Island. Sepe would later be awarded Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors.The Explorers then trekked to Massachusetts on Sunday where they managed a 1–1 draw after Jeff Pio opened the scoring in favor of the visitors. La Salle finish regular season conference play when they host Xavier on Friday and Dayton on Sunday.

The La Salle women lost 3–1 at home to Rhode Island on Friday but bounced back with a 3–0 win at home on Sunday over Massachusetts to earn an Atlantic 10 playoff berth. Renee Washington, who scored in both matches, was named Atlantic 10 Conference Women’s Soccer Rookie of the Week.

Saint Joseph’s

Saint Joseph’s men’s team had a tough road trip this weekend, first falling 3–0 to Charlotte on Friday and then falling 3–0 to St. Louis on Sunday. They conclude the season when they host Richmond on Friday and George Washington on Sunday.

The Saint Joseph’s womwn’s team concluded their season with a 2–2 draw against Saint Louis. Freshman Mo Hawkins scored both goals for the Hawks.

Colonial Athletic Association

Drexel

The Drexel men’s team’s losing streak now stands at four after Saturday’s 2–0 away loss to James Madison. The Dragons will have the chance to snap that streak when they host Old Dominion on Saturday at 7pm.

The Drexel women’s team ended its season with a 2–0 loss to Delaware.

(Cover photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz)

Jake Levin did not look like being beaten (Photo: Michael Fabius)

On a chilly Saturday night at Penn’s Rhodes Field, freshmen striker Stephen Baker took his team leading goal-scoring tally to 8 and the defense did the rest as Penn (12-3, 5-0 Ivy) recorded a 1-0 victory over visiting Brown (10-2-3, 2-2-1 Ivy).

Penn, ranked No. 14 in the nation, was looking to bounce back against 13th-ranked Brown following a 2-1 midweek defeat to Penn State, and the early stages of the match did no look promising for the Quakers as they cheaply squandered possession and looked vulnerable to the searching runs of Brown striker Sean Rosa and midfielder Thomas MacNamara.  Were it not for the Quaker center back pairing of juniors Jake Levin and Thomas Brandt, Brown might have found the breakthrough but as they found their final ball consistently repelled, Penn began to grow in confidence and found their footing in the match.

Loukas Tasigianis pulled the strings for the Quakers (Photo: Michael Fabius)

As Penn began to control more of the play, left midfielder Loukas Tasigianis began to trouble the Brown defense and in the twenty-second minute he collected a pass from Aaron Ross in space and lifted a delightful chip into the path of Stephen Baker who expertly rounded goalkeeper Paul Grandstrand and slid the ball into the empty net.    It was a tremendous finish (one that would earn Baker his third Ivy Rookie of the Week Award) and left Brown reeling considering they had owned most of the possession to that point.  Penn used the momentum to attack in search of a second goal and were having their way on the left flank forcing Brown into a series of hard fouls committed on Tasigianis, resulting in a caution for Brown captain David Walls.

Midway through the half, Penn had established dominance in the middle of the park with senior midfielders Ross and Jason Gorskie doing the hard work to insure Brown’s attack was starved of opportunities.  With Rosa and MacNamara struggling for service, winger Jon Okafor stepped to the fore and his one on one battle with Zach Barnett continued to wage for ten minutes with Barnett winning all but one interaction, a deflected corner to the Bears.  It would be Brown’s best chance of the half, as in the tangle of bodies from the resultant corner, Rosa’s service was headed just over the bar.

No getting through Aaron Ross (Photo: Michael Fabius)

The second half saw the removal of goal-scorer Baker, reshuffling the Quakers into a 4-5-1 with Travis Cantrell as the lone forward.  With Brown again on the front foot, Penn struggled to maintain the first half’s momentum and despite his high workrate, central midfielder Christian Barreiro looked well off the pace, struggling to connect on his passes and assert his influence on the match.  But, as in the first half, Aaron Ross was there to rescue the Quakers as he clogged up the midfield, breaking up passes and pressing the ball high up the field.

Against the run of play in the 58th minute, Loukas Tasigianis latched onto such a long outlet pass and looked to be flattened inside the box, but the referee waived play on.  At the next stoppage, Rosa, MacNamara and Okafor all returned with fresh legs and again went looking for an equalizer but the stout back four of the Quaker’s refused to yield.  Okafor went down outside the area looking for a call but the official saw nothing wrong with Thomas Brandt’s challenge and in an almost forecast-able moment of frustration, Rosa dove hard into a tackle, earning himself a place in the referee’s notebook.  As the evening grew colder and the challenges continued to fly, tempers wore thin and the official did well to keep a lid on the players as the match grew increasingly tense.

No joy for Sean Rosa from Steven Schlaefer (Photo: Michael Fabius)

By the 75th minute, Brown was firmly on the attack with midfielder Evan Coleman pulling the strings from high up the pitch as the Bears went searching for the leveler.  The tireless work of MacNamara saw Brown go close on more than one occasion and in the 79th minute a dangerous cross was only just intercepted by Penn goalkeeper Ben Berg who managed to hold the delivery, snuffing out the attack.  Brown continued to launch attacks into the area in the waning minutes, but their energy had been exhausted and Penn held on for a well deserved victory.

Penn’s next Ivy league match sees the Quakers travel to Princeton to take on the Ivy League’s other unbeaten, this Saturday at 7pm.  Penn returns to Rhodes Field to conclude their Ivy League season on Saturday, November 13 at 5pm when they play host to Harvard.

(Cover photo: Michael Fabius)

The Explorers (10-8-2, 4-4-1 A-10) are now headed to the A-10 Championship, which will start on Thursday, Nov. 4 on the campus of Rhode Island University. Here are some photos from the match.

(Photos by: Daniel Gajdamowicz)

Both games were played Saturday evening at Rhodes Field.

Here’s a photo essay from the women’s game.

(Photos by: Daniel Gajdamowicz)

(Photos by Daniel Gajdamowicz)

(Photos by Daniel Gajdamowicz)

(Photos by Daniel Gajdamowicz)

Already on the squad are Billy Schuler and Scott Goodwin. On Monday Reading United announced that Alex Dixon and Martin Murphy would be joining the team for the summer.

Dixon, who is from Texas, was an important part of UNC’s back-to-back Final Four runs. Dixon, knows how to score: in 2008 he was the team’s third highest scorer with five goals; in 2009 he had eight goals, making him second to Schuler. Dixon’s young career is already marked by a number of achievements including U.S. U17 Residency Program, four years of inclusion in U.S. Youth National Team Pools, ESP Camp All Star honors in 2006, Region III ODP team duties, and NSCAA and Parade Youth All America nods in 2007.

Murphy, who was born in Glasgow, made twelve appearances for UNC  this year as a freshman, scoring two goals and one assist. Before joining UNC, Murphy played for CASL in North Carolina where he contributed to winning two Region III titles in 2006 and 2008.

Said Reading United general manager Art Auchenbach, “We’re obviously thrilled to have players of the caliber of Alex, Martin, Billy, and Scott joining us for the 2010 PDL season. This speaks volumes to the level this team has grown under the direction of Coach [Brendan] Burke. We hope our ability to attract these top players will be what we need to get our team back into the playoffs and challenge for the PDL Championship.”

Reading United’s season kicks off on May 8 when they host the Hampton Roads Piranhas at Don Thomas Stadium. The opening night is also Youth Soccer Night and all youth soccer players who are members of teams from the Reading Berks Junior Soccer League and who wear their uniform to the match will have free admission.

Allentown’s Jason Yeisley, Lehigh University’s Adam Welch, FC Delco product Kevin Tangney and Villanova University’s Mike Seamon all made the cut at the draft. Yeisley and Welch are former players for the newly dubbed Reading United A.C., the minor league club now affiliated with Philadelphia Union.

Here’s a look at the players, their new teams, and what their prospects are:

Mike Seamon

Mike Seamon, midfielder/forward – Seattle Sounders, 2nd round, pick 27

Seamon is a 6-1 attacker from Rahway, N.J., who recorded five goals and seven assists in 2009 and led Villanova in scoring all four years in college. The Sounders made him their second pick after reaching for forward David Estrada in the first round. Seamon’s ability to play both midfield and forward could help him find the field, because that’s basically the same role Sebastien Le Toux played last season before the Sounders lost him to Philadelphia Union in the expansion draft.

Kevin Tangney

Kevin Tangney, defender – Chivas USA, 3rd round, pick 35

Tangney is a 6-2 defender from Newton, Pa., and former FC Delco player who spent five years at the University of Maryland after an injury wiped out his 2007 season. He captained the Maryland squad and anchored a defense that gave up only 0.83 goals per game in 2009. Chivas coach Martin Vazquez said before the draft that center back was the team’s top need after losing Shavar Thomas to the Union in the expansion draft. Tangney was the only center back the team took, so that may bode well for Tangney.

Jason Yeisley

Jason Yeisley, forward – FC Dallas, 3rd round, pick 38

Yeisley is a 6-1, 200-pound striker from Allentown who scored eight goals and handed out five assists for Penn State on the way to becoming 2009 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. He lost two seasons to injury and captained his team, so he’s shown a lot of character. If not for the injury history, he might have warranted a higher pick. Dallas could use some depth at forward, but Yeisley wasn’t the only striker the team drafted – Cal’s Andrew Wiedeman went ahead of him in the second round.

Adam Welch

Adam Welch, defender – New England Revolution, 4th round, pick 54

Welch is a six-foot-tall center back from Bethlehem who was Patriot League Defender of the Year in 2009. He was the only center back taken by New England, so the question is whether he can grab a roster spot on a team that already overhauled its back line last year.

One local player who wasn’t drafted was Temple University and Ocean City Barons product J.T. Noone. He was invited to the MLS scouting combine, so it’s possible he could latch on with a team later or find his way to the USL-NASL.

Have you followed any of these players in college? What do you think their prospects are for sticking with their MLS clubs? Add your comments below.