First Rhode Ivy game for Yale

The Yale men’s soccer team is hitting the road for its first away Ivy matchup — and Penn hopes to be the ungracious host Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Rhodes Field.

Although the two conference rivals enter this matchup with the same overall records, 4-6-3, Penn is in the basement of the Ivy League with a 0-2-1 conference record.

Some unfamiliar turf may ironically be an advantage for the Bulldogs, as they have a 2-1-1 record on the road but are just 2-4-1 at home.

One of those home losses was Wednesday’s loss to No. 6 Connecticut. Although they dropped the match, 2-0, the Bulldogs (4-6-3, 1-2-0 Ivy) proved that they can compete with a nationally ranked team, as they outshot the Huskies by the slim margin of 12-11.

Yale’s leading scorer Scott Armbrust has netted five goals this season, while the Quakers have two leading offensive weapons in sophomore midfielder Christian Barreiro and senior midfielder Alex Takakuwa with six goals apiece.

One weapon the Bulldogs have on defense is senior goalkeeper Travis Chulick. The Camp Hill, Pa., native is ranked second in the League with 44 saves, an average of 3.67 a game. Chulick has also allowed an average of 1.43 goals, compared to Penn’s junior goalkeeper Ben Berg’s 1.49, which is the sixth-highest in the Ivy League.

In last season’s matchup, Penn emerged victorious, but by a narrow margin. The Quakers scored the winning goal with 1:55 left in the second half to top the Bulldogs, 2-1. The series between the two teams is tied at 42.

In order to succeed tomorrow, the Quakers will have to stop Yale’s formidable set pieces. The Bulldogs converted four Cornell fouls into goals in last week’s victory over the Big Red. Penn has allowed their opponents an average of 4.08 corner kicks this season and has committed an average of 12.15 fouls per game.

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