The top 10 games of 2010

Well, a year is about to end so you know what that means. It’s time for some kind of best-of list to honor 2010. (What kind of blog would this be if I didn’t do at least one?) I settled on the top ten games – won by Penn, of course – because there were so many this year that were filled with drama, surprise and significance. My apologies in advance if I’m leaving out some great ones – and also that I’m excluding some of the more individual-oriented sports – but I feel this is a list that best encapsulates the year that was in Penn sports.

So, here counting down from No. 10, are what I determined to be the ten best Penn games of 2010:

10) March 6: Women’s basketball – Penn 44, Dartmouth 31

OK, so any basketball game where the teams combine for 75 points probably isn’t too pleasing on the eyes. But this win for the Quakers was significant for many reasons, starting with the fact that it was the team’s first Ivy League victory of the season (and under head coach Mike McLaughlin) and also that it marked the fewest points allowed by a Penn team in 15 years. To top it off, it came against the defending league champs.

9) March 13: Men’s lacrosse – Penn 8, Villanova 7

There were plenty of comeback and close wins for the Quakers in 2010 but this one may just take the cake. Trailing by a goal with two minutes to play, Corey Winkoff and Rob McMullen scored just 13 seconds apart to give Penn the dramatic one-goal win over its city rival.

8 ) Nov. 5: Sprint football – Penn 70, Princeton 0

Ok, so maybe this wasn’t exactly a great game in terms of competitiveness. But if you’re a Penn fan, how can you not love a championship-clinching win over Princeton? And if you think a 70-0 final is running to the score, well, maybe you’re right. But it was against Princeton, so who cares? Kudos to the Quaker football lightweights for a memorable end to their season.

7) Jan. 30: Men’s basketball – Penn 55, Brown 54

The Quakers only won five Ivy League games last season but they certainly made their wins memorable. In this one, Dan Monckton played the role of hero with a Lorenzo Charles-like putback at the buzzer that turned a one-point deficit into a thrilling but controversial one-point win. Did the ball leave Monckton’s hands before the buzzer sounded? Something says Brown coach Jesse Agel would still say no. But for the Quakers, it was a sweet moment nonetheless.

6) Oct. 2: Football – Penn 35, Dartmouth 28

The Penn football team had one of the most glorious seasons in school history, running through the Ivy League season unbeaten and claiming the program’s 12^th outright league title – all while honoring the memory of fallen teammate Owen Thomas and spirit coach Dan “Lake” Staffieri. But their perfect Ivy campaign was nearly derailed in their first very first league game when a game Dartmouth squad took the Quakers to overtime. It took the fourth touchdown of the day from QB Billy Ragone and a defensive stop in OT for Penn to pull it out – and from there, they marched to history.

5) Oct. 30: Women’s soccer – Penn 3, Brown 2, OT

Junior forward Marin McDermott had a day to remember, scoring twice and setting up teammate Ursula Lopez-Palm for the game-winner in overtime as Penn came from behind to win its final home game of the season. The Quakers followed that up with a tie vs. Princeton, a result that assured them an Ivy League title and a trip to the NCAA tournament, where they lost to Princeton in the first round.

4) Nov. 21: Women’s volleyball – Penn 3, Yale 2

Less than a month after losing in straight sets to Yale, the Quakers countered with a thrilling five-set win over the Bulldogs in New Haven, which assured Penn its second straight trip to the NCAA tournament. Yale had the momentum after winning the third and fourth sets, but the Quakers dug in for the final set, getting five straight kills en route to a 15-8 win. Penn’s season ended to weeks later when it fell to Ohio in the first round of the NCAAs.

3) May 2: Women’s lacrosse – Penn 9, Dartmouth 8

For four years, the seniors of the Penn women’s lacrosse program had never lost to an Ivy League team. But that streak nearly came to a screeching halt in their final try – in the championship game of the inaugural Ivy League tournament. But after Dartmouth scored five straight goals to tie the game at 7-7, the Quakers got scores from Megan Smith and Maddie Poplawski and then held off the Big Green to capture the league crown. Then, playing in their fourth straight NCAA tournament, the Quakers beat Boston U. before being knocked out by Maryland as the most successful senior class in program history said farewell.

2) Nov. 18: Men’s soccer – Penn 1, Bucknell 0, OT

In front of the largest Rhodes Field crowd that head men’s soccer coach Rudy Fuller could ever remember, the Quakers won their first-round NCAA tournament game in the most dramatic way possible: sudden death. After two halves of scoreless soccer, Christian Barreiro netted the game-winner in overtime to set off a huge celebration and send the Quakers into Round 2 of the NCAAs, where they lost to national power Maryland.

1) Feb. 12: Men’s basketball — Penn 79, Cornell 64

This regular-season matchup didn’t carry the same weight as other games on this list that either clinched or led to championships. But for those who follow Penn sports, the basketball team’s stunning upset of then-nationally ranked Cornell was as memorable as any Palestra game in many, many years. Cornell, which ended up winning its third straight league title and marching all the way to the Sweet 16, boasted the best Ivy League squad in more than a decade, while the Quakers were in the midst of one of their worst seasons ever. But for 40 minutes, just about everything went right for Penn as it rolled to a convincing win over its stunned guests. And as students rushed the court to celebrate, we all got a flashback to the glory days of the Palestra and, we hope, a glimpse to all the things that can be in the future. And really, isn’t that what sports are all about?