Coach Rudy Fuller has had Oct. 15 circled on his calendar for a long time.
At noon on that day, his Penn men's soccer team (7-2-1, 3-0 Ivy) will head up to Chase Field in Hanover, N.H., for a showdown against defending Ivy League champion Dartmouth (3-5-3, 1-1-1).
While many coaches would cringe at the thought of facing the defending champions on the road, Fuller looks forward to the challenge. In fact, away games are not necessarily a negative - Fuller noted there are not as many distractions on the road than at home. Nobody on the team, however, is taking this road trip lightly.
"It's tough, relative to the other road trips," senior goalie Dan Cepero commented on the eight-hour drive up. "It's long, and a drain on anybody."
Despite its lackluster record, Dartmouth has played well against stiff competition. The Big Green has played No. 19 California, No. 15 Fairfield, as well as Ivy League powerhouse No. 14 Brown, which Dartmouth managed to tie, 1-1.
"They've got a strong belief in themselves," Fuller said of the Big Green. "Obviously, they're the defending Ivy League champions, so they're used to being successful in the league."
The Quakers' matches against Dartmouth have always been close: They went to double overtime for both of the past two seasons. This year's game looks like it will turn out to be another nail-biter.
"I think they're very good, and we're very good," Fuller said. "I think it's going to be two teams slugging it out."
Once again, the spotlight shines on Cepero. He made six saves against Dartmouth last year en route to a shut out. The year before, he saved four and allowed only one goal. This time, the senior will again be called upon to keep the Dartmouth attack - led by magnificent freshman forward Daniel Keat - in check.
"Dartmouth likes to play very direct, and just kind of hit a lot of long balls, and kind of stretch us out," Cepero said. "What we can do is play from the midfield and keep the speed of play quick."
Even though they are going to a very difficult place to play and facing off against a strong team, the Quakers have clearly stated that their approach to this game will not be different from any other.
Penn does not plan to change its tactic of concentrating on neutralizing the team as a whole, as opposed to a single player, despite the outstanding play of Keat, whose four goals are more than the rest of the team combined. Keat's 35 shots also lead his team.
The Quakers, meanwhile, will be relying heavily on players such as senior forward Ryan Tracy, with a team-best four goals, and sophomore forward Mike Klein, who leads the team with 11 points and 16 shots.
This weekend, many questions will be answered about both the Quakers and the Big Green. Are the Red and Blue for real this year? Just how good is Dartmouth? All eyes will be intently focused on the showdown at Hanover.
