Penn looks to jump start offense

Quakers are still seeking first goal heading into today's matchup with Nova For Penn soccer coach George O'Neill, members of the Sullivan family just keep turning up -- and now they are trying to beat him. Villanova Wildcats coach Larry Sullivan was coached by O'Neill when he played for the semi-professional Philadelphia Ukrainians in the 1970s. Sullivan's son, Brendan, has played at Penn for the last two seasons. Today, at 3:30 p.m. at Villanova, O'Neill will battle against the man he tutored two decades ago. And despite the insensitivity of it, Sullivan will be looking to win against his former mentor. O'Neill and the rest of the Quakers (0-2) are hoping to log their first goal of the season en route to their first victory of the season in today's game. So far, they have been shut out by La Salle and Dartmouth. "We've been getting off some decent shots, but they just haven't been going in," O'Neill said. The prospects may not be much brighter against Villanova (2-3-2), which plays any aggressive defensive game that could prevent Penn from breaking out of its offensive funk. "They're a very good, very organized, very disciplined team," O'Neill said. "One of our coaches saw them a few weeks ago when they beat Seton Hall, 3-2. I also talked to the coach of Boston College. He said they looked very good when they tied them up there at Boston College. That's very difficult to do." Penn's weakness -- scoring -- will be pitted against the Wildcats' strength -- defense. "Villanova is a very well-conditioned team," O'Neill said. "They fight well. And once they get the ball, they come out fast and support each other." Despite Penn's offensive futility in its first two games, O'Neill maintains that he is looking forward to today's game. "I am very excited about this game," he said. "Most of our players have had good spells. [Michael] O'Connor and [Justin] Ramsay have both made some excellent saves at goalie." Regardless of how the men in the nets play, the Quakers will not win this or any other game unless they start putting the ball in the goal themselves. O'Neill is confident the tide will soon turn for the Penn offense. "If they have confidence in themselves, the goals will start coming," he said. "The great plays that the goalies on the other teams have been making tells us that we can at least get off some good shots. If we keep that up, they'll soon start going in the net." If that is the case, then maybe O'Neill can will still be able to show Sullvan a thing or two.