Tomorrow, the Penn men's soccer team will try to make up for lost time and past mistakes.
The Red and Blue take on Seton Hall in South Orange, N.J., in an attempt to partially replace the pair of games they missed this past weekend.
The Quakers were originally slated to play at the Old Dominion STIHL Classic, but their plans were abruptly changed when the Penn Athletic Department canceled all athletic events in response to the tragedies of Sept. 11.
Penn has not faced an opponent since its opening games in the Lafayette/Lehigh Classic the weekend of Sept. 8.
The squad is more than ready to get back on the field.
"We're definitely anxious to face an opponent," Penn senior tri-captain Sam Chamovitz said. "It gets old playing the same guys day-in and day-out. It's nice to have a light at the end of the tunnel -- a goal that we're working towards."
After nearly two weeks of practice, tomorrow's game will be a reward for the Quakers' hard work and determination over the past week.
"Its been a little tough, somewhat like preseason," Penn senior tri-captain Evan Anderson said. "We've used the time to fine-tune some aspects of our game."
If the Quakers are looking for an easy win, this will not be the game.
The Pirates are off to their best start since 1991, with a 2-0-1 record. They earned a win over Boston College on Sept. 8 in their last game.
Seton Hall, a member of the Big East Conference, returns nine starters from its 2000 squad that at one point climbed up to the No. 15 slot on the NSCAA/Adidas national poll.
Penn, however, refuses to be intimidated by these numbers. The Quakers, now 0-2, are focusing on their own game, and not Seton Hall's reputation.
"We've historically played them in the spring," Anderson said. "We're pretty familiar with them as a team -- they're very strong. They are very good competition, so we're very happy that we could get a team on the same level on such short notice."
Penn needs to step up its game a level tomorrow. On paper, the Quakers are a solid squad this season, but they have yet to show it on the field.
"We need to pick up work ethic and intensity," Chamovitz said. "We got outworked against Lafayette and Lehigh. But when we did compete, we played well. We just have to do it for the whole game."
Penn needs to post a win tomorrow to give the team a much-needed boost of confidence.
The Quakers only have three games before Ivy League play begins, including a game this Sunday against LaSalle.
