M. Soccer aims for full game

Ninety is the magic number for the Penn men's soccer team.

It also happens to be how long one soccer match lasts in collegiate play.

The first few contests of the season, the Quakers weren't getting into the games until well after the first whistle was blown.

Then, they couldn't seem to hold on at the very end.

In the game of soccer, every minute counts, so the Penn men's soccer team realized that something had to change.

"If we play 90 minutes, we could potentially beat anybody," Penn goalie Matt Haefner said.

"We just have to keep on our game the whole 90 minutes," freshman forward Joe Klein said.

Lately, it seems, the Quakers are finally getting it right -- and they're reaping the benefits.

The Red and Blue have won three of their past four games, tying the fourth with La Salle.

And this week, Penn was ranked in the top 10 of the Mid-Atlantic Region by National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Now, after playing the first three weeks of the season on the road, the Quakers are finally coming home.

But Penn's new-found success won't mean anything this weekend if the team isn't able to hang when they take on their next door neighbors, Drexel, on Saturday at Rhodes Field.

"We're going to have to play better than we have the past two games," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. "The enthusiasm and intensity with which we play needs to come up."

Drexel (4-2) is a formidable opponent. The Dragons are coming off their best season in five years.

Penn will be at an advantage on home turf, but the squad will have to step its game up a level.

This weekend, and for the remainder of the season, the key to the Quakers' success will be consistency and attitude.

"We're trying to establish ourselves a good team," Fuller said. "That means we need to win on a consistent basis."

The team is aware that if it wants to be the best in Philadelphia, it will have to be ready to go from the start and be able to hang on until the end.

"The attitude is there and the coaching is much better this season," Haefner said. "I'm definitely thinking real positive things about our team."

Other than staying in the game, the Quakers are working on ball possession and control.

"We're trying to improve our defending as a team," Fuller said. "We need to get better at getting command of the game and keeping it."

This weekend's game against Drexel is the last before Penn begins Ivy League play and the games begin to really count.

And if there is any hope for an Ivy League championship in the future, Penn's game needs to come together soon.

Saturday will be the test of whether the Red and Blue can last a whole 90 minutes.

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