The Penn men's soccer team's defense, which has been nearly perfect over the last five games, will be severely put to the test in tomorrow's home matchup with Ivy League foe Columbia at Rhodes Field.
Penn senior defender Erik Hallenbeck said that while Penn plans to "play [its] game, not anything special," the Quakers are certainly aware of the Lions' goal-scoring ability.
Although Columbia has registered only two wins this season, the Lions have lost two games to top-ranked teams -- No. 1 UC Santa Barbara and No. 4 Duke. They also outplayed last year's Ivy League champion Brown a week ago, although they ended up losing, 3-2.
Hallenbeck is not concerned, however, with "looking at [Columbia's] record," and said "they'll be ready."
The Quakers (5-1-2, 1-0-0 Ivy) have certainly been ready for their recent opponents, and are currently tied with Seton Hall at No. 2 in the Mid-Atlantic region of the NSCAA Coaches Poll, only behind Penn State.
Penn coach Rudy Fuller said that "it is nice to be recognized," but also emphasized that the Red and Blue are "focused on the job at hand."
"With the group we have now, they don't care about ranking as much as the result" of the game, Fuller said. "This is a very junior and senior-heavy team that knows rankings don't win games."
Fuller and the players realize the danger Columbia (2-6-2, 0-1-0) poses to the Quakers' undefeated league record and high ranking.
Columbia "always has talented individual players that are athletic and dangerous in attack. They are a hard team to defend," Fuller said.
The potent Lions attack is led by senior Icelandic forward Thorsteinn Gestsson and freshman forward Tom Davison. Both players are strong and explosive in the air, and have totaled three goals each so far this season.
The physical Lions duo's matchup with Penn's solid back four could decide the match, but the Quakers will be packing some scoring power themselves in senior forward Stephen Kroculick and his sophomore running mate, Derrick Jumper.
The two lead the Quakers in scoring and have complemented each other, playing like thunder and lightning. Jumper, a 6-foot-3 power player, "has acted as a target to the midfielders," Kroculick said. "I then run off him and he tries to flick it on."
From there, lightning-quick Kroculick has done the rest, netting three goals so far this season.
"We rotate a lot of guys around up top, and everyone is getting in on the attack," Kroculick said.
The Quakers have nine different goal scorers this season, compared to Columbia's six.
"This is a must win for each team," Fuller said. "We need to be ready to play our best."
For the Quakers, it is another key step in their quest for an Ancient Eight championship, while for Columbia, it is a vital opportunity to get its season back on track to contend in the Ancient Eight.
