In 1975, the men's soccer team went undefeated in its nonconference schedule. Tonight - a third of a century later - the Quakers can repeat that accomplishment.
The Quakers (7-0-3, 1-0 Ivy) visit Lehigh tonight with the opportunity to punctuate their stellar non-Ivy performance. They hope that a win will help them build momentum for the remainder of the Ancient Eight schedule but know that remaining undefeated becomes a liability at some point.
"We haven't lost a game and every team knows that," senior forward Omid Shokoufandeh said. "Every team's going to be coming out to knock Penn off. We have a big target on our back."
But a win or tie tonight would give Penn its first undefeated nonconference run since Gerald Ford was in office. Thirty-three years ago, the Quakers went 6-0 out of conference but ended the year with no postseason.
Thus, the Red and Blue - ranked No. 4 in the Northeast region - hope they have greater long-term success than that squad. An Ivy League title is always the goal, but their early performance could earn them an NCAA Tournament berth even without a conference crown.
"Every game matters in terms of what we want to try and do," coach Rudy Fuller said.
The path to at-large contention and an undefeated nonconference record runs through the Mountain Hawks (4-3-2, 1-0-1 Patriot), who at No. 9 in the Mid-Atlantic aren't pushovers. They are two years removed from a 7-0 Patriot League record and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
"They're a very good defensive team, but we're going to have to be on top of our game in the attack," Fuller said. "They've also got some very dangerous players on attack that we're going to have to find a way to stop."
Getting those stops haven't been easy lately. The Quakers have allowed two goals in each of their past three games, and if not for strong play from Ivy League and Philadelphia Soccer Seven Player of the Week Shokoufandeh, their record may have a blemish.
Shokoufandeh tallied two late goals against Cornell to rescue his team from a late deficit and help the team to its first Ivy win.
Equally as important will be maintaining focus. With the conference season already underway, Penn will need to approach the match against Lehigh - on only two days' rest - without thinking about Columbia on Saturday. Senior defender John Elicker, however, is not worried.
"We're not looking past Lehigh at all," he said. "They're traditionally a very good team and we're excited to get back on the field so fast."
