It's hard to overstate the importance of learning how to win games. This simple adage may seem basic and cliche, maybe even something John Madden would say, but if a team doesn't understand how to pull things together when it counts, it is not going to win now or any time in the near future.
Through six games this season, the Penn men's soccer team has not been perfect. At times, even by its own admission, its play can be described as ugly. But despite frequent lapses in focus, the Quakers are finding ways to pull games out.
Playing in a hostile road environment during their first close game of the season, the Red and Blue failed to hold off Wisconsin-Milwaukee, as the Panthers tied the game late in the second half and went on to win in overtime. The goal in the extra frame came off a careless turnover deep in the Quakers' side of the field, but even after this game, Penn coach Rudy Fuller recognized his team's ability to respond to nerve-racking situations.
"We did start to play it again and pin them in" during overtime, Fuller said following the game. "I felt a goal coming for us."
Since that game, Penn has won three in a row.
In their most recent contest against Drexel, the Quakers came out as flat as they have often been this season and frustrations began to mount. But senior captain Erik Hallenbeck seemed to get the Red and Blue back into the game with a fiery attitude that spread to the rest of the team.
The Quakers also put together gutsy performances in wins against then-No. 18 South Carolina and perennial Big Ten contender Wisconsin.
Last year, the Quakers were supposed to be a force. The Red and Blue returned nearly their entire 2002 squad -- which reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament the year before -- including Columbus Crew sixth-round draft pick goalie Matt Haefner. But a variety of problems -- chemistry, lack of focus, injuries -- prevented another successful run.
So far this season, all those things have fallen into place for the Quakers. They have managed to remain healthy, they are beginning to get significant contributions off the bench and the seniors have provided solid leadership.
Most of all, the team is beginning to believe.
"I think the confidence has grown with each and every game," Fuller said. "I still don't think we've hit our stride, but we're playing well for long stretches and getting good results."
Although Penn has had success, it still has a variety of problems that must be corrected before it can expect to contend with top teams.
The biggest issue is that the Quakers seem to think that the game begins at the 20th minute and not when the initial whistle blows. There has yet to be a game when the Quakers have come out strong, and although they always seem to come alive later on, they cannot expect to coast through the first quarter of the game against better teams -- unless they want to start playing with one and two-goal deficits.
"If we can come out and play from the opening whistle to the final whistle and put together a complete performance each and every time we step on the field, I think we can beat anybody on our schedule," Fuller said. "But it's not going to be easy. It takes a lot of hard work. It takes everybody associated with our program focusing on the next game each and every time."
Penn can and will continue to top lesser teams and has even learned how to beat talented ones. But when the Quakers face the top teams in the country, including top-ranked Maryland three weeks from today, they can't expect to win simply because they know how -- the Red and Blue must play with urgency from start to finish.
Jeff Greenwald is a sophomore economics major from Cleveland. His e-mail address is: jbg@sas.upenn.edu.
