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Men's Soccer vs. Drexel. Men's soccer wins 2 - 0 home at Rhodes Field Credit: Michele Ozer , Michele Ozer

For Penn men’s soccer, every upcoming game is like playing for the Ivy League championship. The team will need to maintain that approach through Saturday when the Red and Blue host Brown at Rhodes Field.

After losing to West Virginia on Tuesday, Penn (6-7-1, 2-1-1 Ivy) will need to be aggressive in order to navigate through Brown’s tough defense.

Thus far, Brown (4-5-5, 1-2-1) has held the opposition to one goal or fewer in 10 of 14 contests with six shutouts. This defensive prowess poses a direct threat to Penn, a team that has had three goals in the past three games but only six shots on goal over that span.

Coach Rudy Fuller recognizes the team’s difficulty putting shots on net but also recognizes the team for being able to capitalize on those chances.

“I’m perfectly happy with our finishing ability. For me, six shots on goal in the past three games are not enough,” Fuller said.

“It’s less to do with finishing and more to do with the final pass. I think our final pass, being aggressive in the final third as well as our dealing with defensive services and clearances in our own penalty area are the keys.”

One of the main storylines regarding Penn’s offense is junior midfielder Forrest Clancy’s recent hot streak. Over the past three games, Clancy has been one of the team’s few consistent sources of offense, with a goal, two assists and two shots.

However, senior forward Duke Lacroix and sophomore forward Alec Neumann have not been getting quality chances as often as they were earlier in the year. Clancy expects that to change going into Saturday.

“I think we just need to work on keeping the ball on ground,” he said. “It’s something we haven’t done so much in the past three games, and we definitely have the potential and mobility to do it. We just need to communicate and organize the team going forward.”

On the defensive side, Penn should fare well. Thus far, Brown has only scored 12 goals in 14 contests. In addition, unlike West Virginia — a team that has two primary offensive attackers — Brown has four multi-goal scorers, but only one with more than two goals on the season: senior forward Ben Maurey.

For Penn, this game will rely on a collective defensive effort inside of the team’s penalty zone.

“The reality is that games are won and lost in both penalty zones,” Fuller said. “The bottom line is on Saturday we have to beat Brown in both penalty areas or we don’t deserve to be Ivy League champions.”

Overall, Saturday’s game is a must-win. Even though Penn will need help with a win, the Red and Blue will be all but finished with a loss.

“You’ve got to win. This is a game where if we want to be deserving champions like everyone else,” Fuller said.

“This is a game where if we don’t win it, we don’t deserve to be champions. It’s a situation where we’ve got to show up on our home field and win games.”

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