Heated league rivalry to open new chapter

As far as Mike Klein is concerned, tomorrow's game against Columbia could be a soap opera in the making.

When asked about the Quakers' intense rivalry with the Lions, the sophomore forward seemed concerned about the possibility that Columbia may have some insider information on the Red and Blue.

"One of their players' older brothers used to play at Penn," Klein said. "So he kind of knows our team."

Klein did not specify the familial connection between the two teams. However, Scott Waddell, a senior forward for Columbia, is in fact the brother of former Penn forward Matthew Waddell.

Under normal circumstances, such a connection could seem benign. However, these are rivals with a past that indicates that each side might go to great lengths to gain an edge over one another.

Past Ivy League contests between Penn (6-2-1, 2-0 Ivy) and Columbia (5-4-1, 0-1-1 Ivy) have been marked by high levels of tenacity and aggressive play.

Klein pointed to Penn's 1-0 overtime victory last year as an example of the heated tension.

"Last year was pretty intense - . it got pretty dirty toward the end," he said. "It was just a rough game - . we were playing rough too. It just got out of control at some point."

Penn coach Rudy Fuller did not seem distracted by last year's cage match. Instead, he seemed focused on keeping the Quakers atop the Ancient Eight standings.

To do this, Penn must contain Tom Davison, Columbia's top scorer (5) and points leader (10).

"We're familiar with Tom," Fuller said. "He's a quality player and a dangerous forward. He's got good size, he's a good finisher, and we're going to work hard to try to contain him."

Fuller also emphasized that his team must learn from its 1-1 tie Tuesday against Seton Hall. In that game, the Quakers built a one-goal halftime advantage, only to squander it during the second stanza.

"In the first half, I think we had an opportunity to gain a bigger advantage than the 1-0 advantage we had at the half," Fuller said. "We were unable to find that second goal. At the beginning of the second half, they came out and were very sharp and took it to us a bit. We weren't as good defensively, and they got a goal there midway through the second half that I felt they deserved."

Although Fuller has been frustrated at times with his team's level of play, he is thrilled with its first-place position, and he believes it has played well thus far. However, he feels that the best is yet to come.

"We haven't really hit our stride yet," he said. "I don't think we have played our best soccer.

"We feel that, if we come out and play up to our capabilities, we can have success against anybody," he added.

Ryan Tracy, the Quakers' senior forward, concurred.

"I feel that when we're playing our best for as long as we can, no team can stay with us."

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