Travis Cantrell leaves his mark on Penn men's soccer

While his coach may not have expected his full impact from the start, Travis Cantrell made his mark on Penn men’s soccer.

As Cantrell led Penn to victory over Harvard on Saturday with a one-goal, two-assist performance, he also played his final match for the Red and Blue. While the season was littered with bitter defeats, Cantrell helped his team finish on a high note with its first Ivy League victory of the year.

“Travis has been doing it all year for us, scoring big goals when we needed it. One of the most impressive things about Travis is you get the same out of him every day,” coach Rudy Fuller said. “There are a lot of people that would have folded over the course of the season, and he continued to put forth a good effort each and every day.”

Fuller, however, didn’t always see that version of Travis Cantrell. In recalling his first impressions of Cantrell as a freshman, Fuller laughed about how he perceived him differently than he does now.

“Travis was someone who came across as a little flighty and someone who didn’t quite dot his I’s and cross his T’s,” Fuller said. “But the more you got to know Travis, the more you got to see what a quality individual he was and how committed he really was.”

Cantrell’s commitment to the team expanded even more this season as he took on a leadership role as team captain. In his conduct as a leader, Cantrell looked to pass on the help he had received from upperclassmen that came before him.

“The older guys throughout the system, throughout my four years, have always led by example and helped the team along,” Cantrell said.

While Fuller praised his leadership this year, Cantrell was disappointed by the squad’s overall performance. But he remains hopeful that the team will be solid without him next year.

“This year was a little bit of a step backwards for us. I think everyone would agree on that,” Cantrell said. “But I think there is the potential to be a really good team and be nationally competitive. … They just have to buckle down and take it seriously while enjoying it.”

At the beginning of Cantrell’s Penn career, the Red and Blue were nationally competitive. In fact, they are just two years removed from a victory in the NCAA tournament against Bucknell.

Despite that experience, Cantrell did not identify the NCAA victory as his favorite part of his time with the Quakers. He instead focused on experience with his teammates.

“There are a couple wins here and there that were really exceptional and really felt good,” Cantrell said. “But it is really about the friendships I’ve made on the team. It’s a great group of guys on the team, and that has really been the most memorable aspect of [Penn soccer].”

With Cantrell’s leadership role and his relationships built with teammates, Fuller saw the importance of sending him and fellow senior Brian Yasukochi off with a final victory to end their collegiate careers.

“It certainly meant a lot to all of us in the program to send Brian and Travis off with a win,” Fuller said. “With the season we’ve had, we obviously didn’t live up to our expectations … For those two in particular, they deserved more, so it was nice to send them off on a positive note.”

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