Now is when the dividends for Penn's difficult early schedule are supposed to pay off.
And the men's soccer team (4-4-2, 1-0-0 Ivy) will look to cash in when it faces Ivy League powerhouse Dartmouth (6-2-2, 0-0-1) tomorrow at Rhodes Field. Penn will meet a Big Green squad that has been champions or co-champions in the Ivy League in three of the last five seasons.
"I think everyone really understands . what a big game it is," senior Jeff Livingston said. "I'm pretty confident that we'll be motivated and ready to win."
Dartmouth will present the Quakers with their first tough Ivy League game of the season. The Big Green consistently outshoot their opponents, and are very efficient, getting almost a goal a game while only allowing 0.48. Junior forward Craig Henderson has run wild on defenses this year, scoring four times this season.
"They have some really quick forwards, so I think we might give them a little more space than we would normally . just keep them in front of us," Livingston said of the Dartmouth offensive attack.
Penn lost to Dartmouth last year, 2-1, at New Hampshire. In that game, Dartmouth got on the board early, and while the Quakers responded with a goal of their own, the Big Green scored the crucial third goal at the beginning of the second half to put the contest out of reach.
Livingston, however, believes that this year will be different. He claims that the attitude of this team is a lot better than the one that took to the field last year.
"I think we're a little more hungry right now than we were last year at this point in the season," he said.
Part of the reason for this hunger was the hole the Quakers dug for themselves in September.
"[The non-conference schedule] really got us to come together as a team and play at a really high level," Livingston said.
One of the players carrying the team right now is junior Mike Klein. The forward was named Ivy League Player of the Week after he scored two goals in five minutes to led the Quakers over Columbia last week.
With the goalie situation for the Quakers stabilizing as well, it seems like the team is ready to compete in the stronger-than-average Ivy League this year.
"The results will come by themselves," Livingston promised.
With the Ivy League games here and Harvard and Brown still to face Penn, it won't be a moment too soon.
