Coming into this season, Penn midfielder Alex Takakuwa had played in two career games and attempted only one shot for the Quakers since transferring from the University of Chicago.
So it's no surprise that Seton Hall never saw him coming in Friday's season opener, in which the senior scored two second-half goals.
"I like to follow after my idol, [retired NBA center] Vlade Divac, the sneaky guy," Takakuwa said, "so I try to get real sneaky to find my way to the back post. They were pretty bad at marking, so I was just wide open a lot."
Unfortunately for Penn, Takakuwa's two goals were not enough to overcome an early 3-0 deficit in a 3-2 home loss to Seton Hall, and Monday the Quakers were kept off the board entirely in a double-overtime scoreless draw at Villanova.
Last season Penn defeated the Pirates and Wildcats 2-0 and 3-2, respectively, but this year's squad has plenty of room for improvement.
The reigning Ivy League champs had a massive roster overhaul after graduating 12 seniors. This year, Takakuwa is one of only two seniors on the roster, and he hopes to continue to step up his game and lead by example.
"He's a guy who has some special qualities in the attacking third," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. "I think Alex would tell you he's got to get fitter. He's not yet a 90-minute player."
Penn (0-1-1) started the season shakily by allowing three first-half goals to Seton Hall (1-2), including two by Andrew Welker in a span of two minutes.
"We just weren't ready and prepared as a defensive unit," junior goalie Ben Berg said. "In the second half, we were really defensively sound as a unit. We were talking, and we were making good decisions on and off the ball."
The Red and Blue settled down after that rough start, but Fuller didn't attribute Penn's initial tentativeness to youthful jitters. Instead, he felt the culprit was his team's lack of cohesiveness with many players taking on new roles.
"We have new relationships all over the field that don't form overnight," Fuller said. "It takes individuals and guys working really hard together."
Berg is one piece of the puzzle, and he seemingly has large shoes to fill to replace Drew Healy, who set a Penn record with seven straight shutouts to start last season and 11 overall on the year.
In only his second start, Berg got his first shutout under his belt, after a 110-minute slugfest against local rival Villanova (1-1-1). The Quakers could not manage a goal against what Fuller called a "very hard defensive team," but he said the overall effort was a better starting point and was more indicative of the team's overall talent.
Now Berg will look to continue a prolonged scoreless streak of his own when Penn travels to the San Diego State Tournament this weekend.
"That's the plan," Berg said. "I go into every game expecting to get a shutout."
