M. Soccer goes for big win in Ivy finale

In 1985, Penn defeated Princeton in men's soccer 4-1. Those winning ways would not continue, as in the thirteen years since, the Quakers are 0-12-1 against their rivals from New Jersey. To put this in perspective, consider that Penn head coach Rudy Fuller was just a freshman in high school the last time the Quakers beat the Tigers. Penn can end this drought tomorrow, though, as the Quakers (4-10-1, 0-5-1 Ivy League) finish their season against the Tigers (7-7-1, 2-3-0) at 7:30 p.m under the lights in Princeton at Lourie-Love Field. "It's the biggest game of the season," senior Jared Boggs said. "We knew that before the season started, no matter what our record was coming into it." For Boggs and fellow senior captain Ralph Maier, tomorrow's game is their last in a Quakers uniform. "They've done so much for the program over their careers and especially this past year being the leaders of a young team," Fuller said. "They deserve to go out with a win." Unfortunately for the Quakers, they are playing Princeton at the worst possible time. The Tigers have had to deal with many injuries over the course of the season, including the loss of Justin Kerr -- their leading goal scorer in 1997 -- for the entire year. But the Tigers have come together as a team, winning 5 of their last 6 games. "The last couple weeks have been pretty good to us, and we're all frustrated the season's coming to an end when we're playing so well," Princeton coach Jim Barlow said. Princeton's resurgence has been sparked by the emergence of freshman goalie Jeff Gillie. Recovering from a summer injury early in the season, Gillie was named Ivy League Freshman of the Week in his first week in net. The Quakers had been playing well of late, too, winning three of four until last Saturday's 5-0 loss to Yale. "If you were to talk to anybody on our team after last Saturday's result, they would have said, quite frankly, that it was our worst performance of the year," Fuller said. "We're trying to just push it behind us because it's really just an anomaly, a bad game," Boggs said. Nevertheless, the Quakers have rebounded from the Yale game mentally with sharp practices this week, and they should have no problem maintaining a high intensity level tomorrow on the Tigers' field. "You can't have a more intense game -- 7:30 under the lights against your rivals," Maier said. The crowds at Princeton soccer games are always large, and a weekend night game against Penn will only add to the Tiger support. "I always enjoy playing in front of crowds, whether they're home crowds that are for us or hostile crowds away that are against us," Fuller said. "That's what you look for when you walk on the field -- you want people watching the game." A bigger problem for Penn will be the condition of the field at Princeton. Both teams may have to adapt to its uneven surface. And although Barlow denies it, Fuller claims that Princeton plays a different brand of soccer at home than on the road. "The field makes it difficult to play a possession style of game, to keep the ball on the ground, to keep it moving," Fuller said. However, the greatest challenge for the Quakers may still be the ghost of past losses against Princeton. And how can Penn get this gorilla of a winless streak off its back? Maier offers a simple answer: "If everyone comes to play, as opposed to last Saturday against Yale, we're gonna win."

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