Despite goalkeeper Drew Healy's solid play during the Quakers' weekend road trip to California, coach Rudy Fuller is not completely set on who will start against Hartwick on Friday.
Kevin Sweetland was originally penned in at No. 1 on the chart for the two-game set out west. However, he had suffered a deep thigh bruise late in the season opener at Seton Hall. Freshman Ben Berg subbed in for the rest of the game.
But it was Healy, not Berg, who was named as a substitute for the road trip. Fuller "wanted the extra experience" offered by the junior.
The day before the Cal game, Fuller decided that Sweetland was not healthy enough to start, and Healy ended up playing all 180 minutes of the trip. The Quakers lost, 1-0, to the No. 7 Golden Bears and 2-0 to Stanford.
Fuller "expects [Sweetland] to be at 100 percent" in time for practice today and the game Friday. He added that he is leaning toward giving Sweetland the nod in net against Hartwick.
Pulling double-duty. When freshman Tobi Olopade was recruited to Penn, it was for his speed on the track, not his soccer skills.
But after he spent time in the summer at Fuller's Elite 300 Soccer Academy in Swarthmore, Pa., Fuller thought that the St. Paul's grad had potential for a spot on his front line as a forward.
"He's a player that we identified in the summer," Fuller said. "I saw him play and he was already recruited to Penn for track and field, so I offered him a spot on the team."
In the waning minutes of the Seton Hall wash, Fuller said he gave "some of the young guys some experience." Olopade was one of those players, trotting out wearing No. 25 and getting some minutes, misfiring on the lone shot he attempted.
Even with his new commitment to the soccer team, Olopade will remain on the track team as well. At St. Paul's he won meets in sprinting events and in the high jump.
Transfers paying off. After three games, the Quakers are 0-3. But don't blame that on the three Georgetown transfers that Fuller recruited over the summer.
The junior trio of Alex Fairman, Brian Mascarenhas and Richard Frank have seen action in all three contests so far.
Against Cal, Frank nearly scored twice after a pair of through balls and Fairman delivered a fine free kick that Ryan Porch nearly headed in for the equalizer.
The three have said that they came to Penn for independent reasons.
