The Penn men's soccer team is within one game of winning its second title in three years.
But it isn't the Ivy League crown.
The Quakers (4-7-2) can clinch the Philadelphia Soccer 7 title today with a win over Saint Joseph's (7-10-1) at Rhodes Field.
This will be the Red and Blue's second game after nine team members were given two-game suspensions for violating a team rule that coach Rudy Fuller would not specify.
"The guys made a mistake and they suffer the consequences," Fuller said. "We've had some issues with commitment and discipline that we are dealing with, and I think it will work itself out."
The Quakers fell, 1-0, at No. 11 Brown in the first contest, but the score was closer than would have been expected.
"Rudy is always telling us to do 100 percent of your job and half the other guy's job, and the 13 guys [not suspended] are doing double that," freshman goalie Daniel Cepero said.
Cepero was in between the posts against Brown, getting 10 saves in just his second start of the season.
"Had we played the whole 90 minutes the way we played the second half, who knows what would have happened," Fuller said. "We're a deep enough team to get results with whomever we put out there."
After the 11 starters played the entire game against Brown, Penn will bring fresh pairs of legs into the game today, including freshman defender Andy Howard, who served a one-game suspension for getting a red card against Yale.
"It's part of the game," Fuller said of the red card. "It's something you deal with and move on.... We'll be glad to get him back."
However, numerous Quakers are questionable for today's game because of injuries.
Penn junior co-captain Erik Hallenbeck said he hopes sophomore defender Erik Violante will be able to battle past his leg injury after sitting out against Brown.
"I don't think he is significantly better," Hallenbeck said. "But I would still be surprised if I didn't see him out there."
Fuller also indicated that sophomores John Rhodes and Artie Bartholomew were "dinged up at Brown."
"It's not that they are not getting better, but they have to be at 100 percent to play, and I think they're farther back than we originally thought they were."
Though the Quakers have been fairly successful against Soccer 7 teams this season, going 2-1-1, they think today's game will be tough.
"I think we should come out on top, but we will need to play hard to get it," Hallenbeck said.
Hallenbeck added that St. Joe's has a style of play similar to the other Philadelphia teams.
"There shouldn't be anyone too flashy, but they have their roles on the team and they all work really hard," he said.
Cepero said that "Brown was much more intense" than Philadelphia University, the only other game he started this year.
"There is definitely a Philadelphia style of play, but with Philly U., they just didn't have the desire," he said.
Fuller said the Quakers that can play are motivated to bring the city title back to Rhodes Field, even if they can't have the Ivy crown this year.
"We're always trying to win every game that we can," Cepero said. "Bottom line."
