Men's Soccer can clinch Ivy title with victory

The Penn men's soccer team is on the brink of winning its first Ivy League title since 1980.

Moreover, the Quakers have the chance to celebrate a championship on rival Princeton's Lourie-Love field.

However, to the No. 14 Quakers (10-2, 5-0 Ivy), this game is just another day's work.

Freshman Erik Violante emphasized that the Quakers have a winning formula, which they have to stick to in order to win.

"We have to keep playing how we have been," Violante said. "Nothing has changed going into the Princeton game."

On the other hand, the Tigers (3-8-4, 1-3-1) are hoping for a reversal of fortune.

Currently, they are suffering through an extremely disappointing season after starting out with high expectations. At this time last year, the Tigers were on their way to winning an Ivy championship.

Despite the Tigers' position in the Ivy League cellar, the Quakers are not about to underestimate their opposition.

"Princeton has a similar team to last year's when they won the Ivy League," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. "Their strength is in their athleticism and ball movement and we are expecting a difficult game."

In fact, the Tigers have made all of their opponents work for their wins. So far, they have competed in seven overtime contests this season. They are 1-2-4 in games that go beyond regulation.

There are many other factors that will also contribute to the intensity of this matchup.

"Penn and Princeton could be playing a game of checkers and it's going to be competitive," Fuller said.

The Tigers are also looking for a chance to redeem themselves. They view a win against the league-leading Quakers as translating into immediate respect.

While the Quakers are expecting another classic Ivy battle, they are confident in their ability to win.

"We've stepped up to every challenge this year," senior tri-captain Nathan Kennedy said. "Now we are ready to step up to another challenge."

The sense of anticipation is especially great for the seniors, who have never won a game against Princeton during their careers at Penn.

"We put in a lot of hard work since we've been here," Kennedy said. "It would be nice to culminate in a championship."

Though there are no guarantees regarding the outcome, the Quakers promise to bring their A-game.

"We're going to go all out," Violante said. "We're going to play as hard as we can so we don't have any regrets after the game."

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