PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- The Dartmouth men's soccer team used first-half goals from senior forwards Maarten van Ess (Marlborough, Mass.) and Lucky Mkosana (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) to defeat Penn, 2-1, on Saturday night at Rhodes Field. The win gives the Dartmouth men's soccer program its 500th win and puts head coach Jeff Cook three wins away from his 100th career victory.
With the game tied, 1-1, Mkosana converted a penalty kick, his first of the season, in the 20th minute of action which proved to be the game-winner as neither team found the net in the second half.
Mkosana led the Big Green offense with four shots while sophomore defender Brian Joseff (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and junior midfielder Kevin Dzierzawski (Oakland Township, Mich.) added three and two shots, respectively. Sophomore goalkeeper Noah Cohen (Johannesburg, South Africa) made four saves in 90 minutes of action in net.
Dartmouth (5-4-3, 2-1-0 Ivy League) came out on the offensive to open the game. Dzierzawski opened the game with a shot that was blocked by a Penn defender while teammate Adam Rice (Manalapan, N.J.) added a shot that went high.
The Big Green got on the board with a van Ess's header in the 14th minute of the game. Van Ess connected with a perfectly placed corner from Dzierzawski and bounced the ball into the far side for the early Dartmouth advantage.
Penn (6-5-2, 1-2-0 Ivy League) tied the game up in the 20th minute on a goal from Christian Barreiro. Penn's goal, also off a corner kick, was a low driven ball that was tapped just past goalkeeper Cohen.
The second half featured plenty of scoring opportunities for both sides. Dartmouth had five second-half shots, including several shots from Joseff but Penn goalkeeper, Max Kurtzman, stymied each Dartmouth opportunity. Cohen was equally as impressive as Kurtzman, making four saves on the evening and keeping a clean scoresheet in the second half.
Dartmouth returns home for its next two games beginning with a Homecoming contest with Ivy League foe, Columbia on Saturday (Oct. 22). The Big Green squares off with the Lions at 4:00 p.m. at Burnham Field.
