Quarterbacks and soccer goalkeepers have a lot in common.

They are the ones who direct and position teammates and handle the ball more than anyone else on the field. They also get too much of the credit when their team wins and too much of the blame when it loses.

"I don't think there's any question about that last part," Washington & Jefferson College goalkeeper Brandon Kern said. "When we win, it's 100 percent a team effort."

Kern, a junior who played high school soccer at Chartiers Valley, has been receiving a lot of accolades for his play recently. The Presidents are 9-4 overall, 2-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference and Kern has been in front of the net most of the time.

For about a month he and the Presidents pitched shutout after shutout.

So far, W&J has blanked seven opponents, but six of those came in a row, breaking the school record for consecutive shutouts.

The Presidents played 540 minutes in the historic run and Kern was in goal for 441 of those, making 20 saves.

The streak started with a 1-0 victory against Marietta Sept. 16 and ended when Waynesburg managed a goal in the second half of a 3-1 loss to W&J. Along the way La Roche, Wilmington, Penn State Beaver, Grove City and Penn State Behrend were stifled. Perhaps his best game during the streak came when he made four saves in a 1-0 victory at Grove City.

Kern, who was honored as the PAC's defensive/goalkeeper of the week earlier this month, is quick to point out that he was just a part of the streak.

"It really is a team effort. We play a flat four on defense and all of those guys have been playing well. We have a lot of team chemistry," said Kern, who has a 0.94 goals against average and a 6-3 record this season after playing in only one game last year. "I don't have to make a lot of saves because our defense is so good. Those guys make it easy for me."

It helps that Kern is 6 feet 3, 200 pounds, athletic and has a wide wing span.

His size helps when he has to come out and cut down the angle on opposing players.

"Against Grove City a guy was coming in [on goal] and I went out and made myself look as big as possible," Kern said. "He ended up missing [the goal] wide."

Pitching shutouts is nothing new for Kern. His senior year at Chartiers Valley he gave up only three goals, but missed a good chunk of the season with a broken left hand.

Before the injury he was considering playing at the NCAA Division II level and was getting some interest from low Division I schools.

"After the injury I re-focused on education and playing at a Division III school," he said. "It was a good decision."

Kern has played in 12 of the Presidents' matches, starting 10. He has allowed eight goals and made 43 saves.

Slippery Rock University men's soccer team is ranked second in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region poll and 21st in the National Soccer Coaches Association poll. The Rock went into a non-conference game last night at Seton Hill with an 11-2 overall record. It is 5-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's West Division. The Rock is ranked behind Millersville in the Atlantic Region.

When West Liberty topped West Virginia State, 52-30, in football action Saturday it was the Hilltoppers (6-1) sixth consecutive victory. That's the school's longest winning streak since it won seven in a row in 1979. West Liberty is No. 21 in the NCAA Division II coaches' poll this week, the first time the Hilltoppers' program has been nationally ranked since making the move from NAIA to Division II n the mid-1990s.

Washington & Jefferson's football team is ranked in three polls this week. The Presidents (5-0, 2-0 PAC) are No. 7 in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 and No. 9 in the D3football.com Top 25. The ECAC released its first Lambert Meadowlands Division III poll and W&J is No. 2 behind Wesley. The territory for the Lambert Meadowlands poll includes New York, New Jersey, New England and Pennsylvania.

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