M. Soccer faces Villanova without top defender

The Penn men's soccer defense will suffer, as Tom Hughes has to sit out for receiving a red card. There is a big hole in the Quakers defense and it is not just because of the two-goal lead they blew in Saturday's 3-2 loss to Brown. Numerous yellow cards were distributed in the game, but the most devastating penalty was a red card received by Penn's sophomore defender Tom Hughes. The Penn men's soccer team (4-9, 2-0 Philadelphia Soccer 7) will be forced to play without Hughes who is sidelined because of the red card. "It's a big loss, literally," said Penn coach George O'Neill. The 6'6'' defender, known as "Big Tom," is a central part of the Quakers' defense. His height and jumping ability will be missed in clearing balls away from the front of the net. Hughes is disappointed that he will be unable to play today against Soccer 7 rival Villanova (6-6-4, 1-1-1) at Penn's Rhodes Field at 2 p.m. "The thing that stinks is my dad went to Villanova and was really looking forward to the game," Hughes said. "I'm not sure if he will go anyway. It kind of sucks." It will not be easy for the Quakers to replace Hughes, who is the only player on the team to have started all 13 of its games this season. O'Neill was uncertain who would make the start. He faces another problem because defender Ted Lehman was injured Saturday in a collision with Brown's goalie and his status is questionable. "I really don't know yet," O'Neill said. "I have to wait until their done with their training session." One player who may get the call is junior Ralph Maier. Maier would take Lehman's position at stopper, while Lehman moves back to fill Hughes' normal spot. Maier is confident he will be able to make the transition to the role of a starter easily. "I've played in every single game so far, usually for at least half of the game," said Maier. "That's where I played the last two years." The Quakers know that even with their usual starting players, the game against Villanova would not be an easy one. "Villanova is a well-organized team," O'Neill said. "They're a well-coached team. They are very disciplined and work hard for each other." The Quakers, who have struggled offensively this season, scoring only 14 goals in 13 games, including five shutouts, will have their hands full against Wildcats goalie Matthew Westfall. Westfall boasts a 0.90 goals against average and has four shutouts on the season. He was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week and Soccer 7 Player of the Week for the week of September 22. The Quakers seemed to revive their offense on Saturday as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead against the Bears, and hope they will be able to repeat that performance today. "We're going to try to do the same thing tonight, but get a third and finish them off," Penn junior forward Steve Cohen said. "[Saturday,] we took the lead for granted. It was midway through the second half and we just got too comfortable." In order for the Quakers to finish their Soccer 7 schedule undefeated, the Red and Blue know they will have to make an adjustment in the backfield and tighten their defense. "Our guys still have the morale," said O'Neill. "They have great character and will rebound from the loss."