Rudy Fuller isn't on the NCAA's rules committee.
Too bad. This was the year for the men's soccer coach to push a rule change: Juniors only. Penn has 12, and Fuller could field a competitive team with them.
But after last year, Penn won't mind including all 24 guys on its squad. The Quakers had a bare-bones team of 17 that strained the players and limited what their coach could do in practice.
"When we had injuries, people were playing hurt," senior Keith Vereb said. "We knew we didn't have the numbers."
Vereb was right - they didn't. Penn finished second in the league despite beating the champions, Harvard. A strong league record wasn't enough for Penn to get an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
This year, after bringing in seven freshmen and three transfers from Georgetown, Fuller hopes to finish the job.
"We've got a little bit of fire in our bellies," the coach said. "We did feel like we deserved to be Ivy League Champions last year."
"We walked away . feeling like we had done ourselves in."
Most of the players who felt that bitter taste will be back. Penn returns eight of 11 starters, and prominent reinforcements like Kevin Unger (who had four goals last year) and Andrew Ferry. Both will fight for starting jobs.
There will be one glaring absence: goalkeeper Dan Cepero, the unanimous All-Ivy selection who found his way to Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls in the spring.
A rock for the past two years, Cepero leaves behind a fierce competition for the starting job. Junior Drew Healy and sophomore Kevin Sweetland were front-runners, but freshman Ben Berg has since emerged.
With only days before the season opener against Seton Hall, Fuller was tight-lipped about who the choice will be.
"All three of them, I think, have been extremely sharp this preseason," he said. "We're going to see how it plays out."
If the goalies are finding it tough to earn minutes, the outfield newcomers face an even tougher task. Penn returns the scorers of 17 of last year's 23 goals, including forward Mike Klein (three goals, eight assists) and the starting midfield.
Fuller and the players hope the internal jockeying will prove to be a positive.
"Everybody knows that each training session, each travel trip, there's going to be competition," Vereb said. "I think that's what's going to set us apart from last year."
Many of the same obstacles are still around. League favorite Harvard still has a talented offense, with Under-20 international Andre Akpan and speedy Michael Fucito.
Brown brings back Rhett Bernstein, a nominee for the Hermann Trophy, given to the nation's best college player.
If Fuller can make his team's transition smooth and keep 24 players happy while doing it, that may be enough to push the Quakers over the hill.
If he can't, they will hear the words often said of a team stacked with juniors.
Wait 'til next year.
