The Penn men's soccer team had quite a bit to feel good about, sweeping its home tournament last weekend.
Not only did Penn knock off No. 18 South Carolina and Fairleigh Dickinson, but the pair of wins earned the Quakers (3-2-0, 0-0-0 Ivy) a No. 5 ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association's Middle Atlantic Region poll.
But Penn head coach Rudy Fuller would rather not dwell on the rankings.
"It is always nice to get recognized in the rankings, but we are all well aware of the pitfalls of reading too much into them at this point in the season," Fuller said in a press release.
"We have yet to hit our stride and still need to play well on a more consistent basis if we want to reach the goals we've set for ourselves this year."
Standing in the way of those goals will be formidable opponents, including Maryland, Seton Hall and Loyola (Md.) In addition, the road to the Ivy title could run through Princeton, as the Tigers hold a 4-1 record and are ranked fourth in the Mid-Atlantic by soccerbuzz.com. Penn will square off with the rival Tigers in the penultimate game of the season on Nov. 6.
"There are no easy games on our schedule," Fuller said.
The Quakers will take their new ranking into play this Friday, as they face Drexel in a Philadelphia Soccer Seven matchup at Rhodes Field.
-- Jeff Shafer
