M. Soccer faces improved UMBC

The Quakers would get a huge boost from an upset win over Maryland-Baltimore County. Yes, after three league losses, the Ivy League title is out of reach for the Penn men's soccer team. And yes, the midseason momentum the Quakers (3-7-2) gathered after winning three of four games has withered somewhat after three consecutive 2-1 losses. But don't expect Penn to look merely for a token upset against University of Maryland-Baltimore County (15-0-1) today. The game means a lot more than that to the Quakers. In Penn's locker room prior to the season, coach Rudy Fuller posted a ladder of goals with an Ivy League Championship at the top. Although the pinnacle is now out of reach, the Quakers still can scale several rungs of the ladder -- starting with a victory over a favored UMBC team. Penn dominated UMBC in a 3-1 victory last season, but transfers have turned the toothless Retrievers into the No. 20 team in the nation and a contender for an NCAA Tournament spot. UMBC has added forward Giuliano Celenza (from junior college) and midfielders Pat Halter (Old Dominion) and Matt Gormley (Wake Forest) in the last two years, helping turn a last year's 11-7-2 team into an undefeated powerhouse. "I questioned how they were going to gel over the summer," said Penn senior Reggie Brown, who trained with UMBC players several times this summer. "I thought maybe their egos wouldn't mesh together when it came to college. But, as far as I'm concerned, they've answered those questions and more." The Retrievers, winners of nine consecutive games, are led by Celenza and fellow forward Ty Engram. Celenza, who tallied eight points against St. Francis on Sunday, is one goal shy of the UMBC record for a season. The 5'6'' junior has 19 goals and 9 assists on the year. The 6'0'' Engram, meanwhile, has netted 14 goals and dished out six assists in 16 games. "They've got some frontrunners comparable to Old Dominion frontrunners," Fuller said. And that is not a good sign for Penn, as the Quakers could not stop either of the Monarchs' top two scorers, Jimmy Tanner and Michael Tooley, from netting a goal in a 2-1 loss earlier this month. However, UMBC coach Pete Caringi is concerned that the Retrievers' "possession game" might work to Penn's advantage. "I don't know if it matches up well with Penn, because [the Quakers] beat us rather handily last year," Caringi said. "Penn is a very attacking oriented kind of team and they keep possession." Although they have met only two times as teams, many players on both teams are familiar with each other. "I know at least half the team," said Penn sophomore Aaron Cohen, a Rockville, Md., native. "I've played with at least six or seven of them on my team before, whether it's Olympic Development Program or on a club team." Six of Penn's 27 players are from Maryland or Washington, D.C., and all of them have strong ties to UMBC players. "If there's one game on this schedule I don't want to lose, it's this game," Cohen said. In addition, the Quakers will have more fans than usual for a road game, as the families and friends of several of the Maryland and Washington, D.C., natives will be in attendance. "It's a reunion of sorts," Brown said. "I haven't really played in the Maryland area in my four years, so I'm looking forward to it." But, despite the subplots in this game, Penn is looking at this contest as a stepping stone to scale their ladder of goals. One more win would guarantee the Quakers a better record than last year's 4-11-1 mark. And if Penn can run the table in its final five games, it can finish above .500 for only the second time in 10 years. For now, however, the Quakers just hope to do what they need to do to get past that first rung of the ladder -- pull off an upset. And spoiling the Retrievers' undefeated season would certainly constitute an upset.

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