With a slew of solid performances, it's hard to believe that the men's soccer team has only one win to show for them.
But a 7 p.m. match at Saint Joseph's tomorrow could be just what coach Rudy Fuller and the rest of the Red and Blue (1-4-2) need.
Although St. Joe's (1-5-0) has as many wins as Penn, it's hard for anyone to call their season anything better than "terrible."
Fuller, in a diplomatic turn, remained mum about the outlook for the game. All he offered was that he felt it "was a tough game in a tough environment."
Despite that prognosis, St. Joe's has been ineffective on both the offensive and defensive sides of the field. It has scored just five goals all year while opponents have run wild, scoring 20 on the hapless Hawks.
Last year was no different, and the Quakers - almost all of whom return from last season - blanked St. Joe's 4-0.
However, Penn should be wary not to read too much into last season's result.
For starters, the Hawks have been greatly bolstered by the addition of dynamic freshman forward Colin Baker. The first-year phenom is responsible for 60 percent of St. Joe's scoring offense and is getting the ball to the net at a respectable .231 clip.
He relies on a deep veteran midfield that features juniors Michael McInaw and Andrew Tursi and seniors Cliff Duddy and Ian Kane.
On the other hand, the defense is young and lacks depth - of the five backliners on the team, there are three freshmen and only one senior.
And as the last line of defense, junior keeper Brian Benedict - facing a barrage of shots - is giving up over three goals per contest.
All this plays well into the hands of the Quakers. Forward Andrew Ferry's "blue-collar effort," as his coach calls it, has translated into only one goal all season, but it helps open up the attack.
Hybrid wingers/forwards Alex Grendi, Richard Frank, and Mike Klein have the ability to either crash the box, cross it from the sides or beat defenders one-on-one.
After a season-opening wake-up call at Seton Hall, Penn's defense has been superlative. Despite surrendering nine goals in the six games since, most of those have come as the result of set-pieces.
Starting Quakers' keeper Drew Healy is out with a match ban after being sent off against Penn State on Wednesday. But Penn need not fear, as backup keeper Kevin Sweetland has proven himself more than capable in his few outings.
On paper, the Quakers outmatch the Hawks and should be able to chalk up an easy "W" for the record.
But Fuller isn't so fixated on results.
"I think this whole time we've put most of the focus on ourselves," he said. "We've been trying to get better each game and we've been able to do that even though the results haven't shown it. We have to be getting better for the Ivy League games."
It's been a constant mantra ever since the start of the season. But the men are running out of time to turn effort into results. If they can't do it soon, they may be left on the outside looking in come playoff time.
