M. Soccer up against lowly Explorers

The heavy favorite is not a role that the Penn men's soccer team is accustomed to playing, nor is it one the Quakers particularly desire. But they better get used to it quickly because that is just the position they will be in when they travel to La Salle for a game today at 3 p.m. The Explorers are almost certainly the worst team on Penn's schedule, as they enter today's game with an 0-9-1 record. Inept is the only way to describe their offense, as they have averaged less than a goal per game in their 10 contests thus far. But the Quakers (3-3) know it would be unwise to overlook La Salle, which has more than enough motivation heading into this game. "For those other inner city schools it's a big win for them if they can come out and beat us because Penn is a very prestigious school," Penn assistant coach Brian Kammersgaard said. "It's going to be tough. They're going to be a dangerous team to play because they have nothing to lose anymore, so we have to go in and play our game. We can't look past these guys, but if we're on our game we should be able to dominate." La Salle will be up for this game not just because it is playing Penn, but also because of who Penn's coach is. Quaker coach George O'Neill coached La Salle coach Pat Farrell and assistant Jim Coleman for several years in Europe back in the late 1970s, and this will be a chance for the two to show O'Neill how much they have learned. "They're going to be coming out wanting to get one over the old coach, which is fine," O'Neill said. "It should be very interesting. I know it's not going to be easy for us because they're going to have their guys fired up." Factor in the burning desire to get win number one after 10 blown attempts, and it is obvious that La Salle will be plenty geared up for the Quakers. But Penn has its own reasons for wanting to win and, more than that, to excel. With a crucial league game against Harvard coming up, the Quakers want to get back the form they had in their victory against nationally-ranked Philadelphia Textile. That game was followed by a ragged win against Lehigh and a tough 3-1 loss to Columbia, both of which featured somewhat sloppy performances on both sides of the ball. "We have to cut down our mental errors [on defense]," Kammersgaard said. "Then we have to shore up our goal scoring and put the ball in the net more than once per game. In the midfield we have to go out and play our game – direct attacking soccer." The Quakers are indeed looking to use this game to establish some consistency on offense. Against several opponents this year, the attack has been on top of its game, but in two Ivy League contests, most recently in the loss to Columbia, it has totaled just one goal. Penn is looking to sharpen up its passing and get some needed work on corner kicks and set pieces. In truth, however, increased scoring should follow suit if the Quakers improve the mental aspects of their game. Penn is 0-2 in the Ivy League not because it is an inferior team, but due to mental lapses that led both to wasted opportunities for the Quakers and a few goals for their opponents that maybe shouldn't have happened. Today's game against an overmatched La Salle squad might be just what Penn needs to get everything in order before gunning for its first win at Harvard. "We need to settle down and maintain our concentration so we can play soccer the way we're capable of playing – for the whole game, not just in patches," O'Neill said. "Maybe it's due to inexperience with the system I'm having them play, or maybe just a lack of confidence overall. We should realize that we weren't outclassed [against Columbia], it was just that we weren't concentrating enough." If the Quakers experience similar problems today, it is not inconceivable that they could become the Explorers' first victim. Penn certainly knows what it is like to be the underdog, to be looking for any slip the opponent might make that would allow for the upset. "The coaches have stressed that to us," senior captain Mike Gomez said. "[The Explorers] have nothing to lose. This would make their season. We need to be aware of that. We definitely know what can happen in that situation."