The men’s soccer team was not prepared for yesterday’s game against Penn State.
Payback was in order for the Nittany Lions, who lost 3-0 at Rhodes Field last season. This time around, the Quakers were thumped 5-0 in University Park, Pa. Four of Penn State’s five goals came in the second half.
Penn coach Rudy Fuller readily accepted blame for the loss.
“Our guys clearly were not prepared properly for this game. There’s no other excuse for it,” he said, acknowledging the fault of the coaching staff.
“I think myself and my assistants have to take a good hard look at what we need to change to get these guys better prepared.”
Forward Tobi Olopade agreed with his coach.
“The result isn’t indicative of the level of our team, how good I think our program actually is,” Olopade said. “Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way.”
Although they would’ve needed more than a few lucky bounces.
Lockdown defense has been the cornerstone of Penn’s soccer program over the past few years, which is why this defensive lapse comes as such a surprise. In fact, the five goals that the Quakers (3-3-2) gave up yesterday were the most they have yielded in a game since the 2007 season opener against Seton Hall.
“Our team’s trademark is our team defense,” Olopade said. “11 guys weren’t on the same page, so you can’t really pinpoint one individual.”
The Wharton junior also conceded that the Nittany Lions’ (6-3-1) gameplan made it hard for the Quakers to exercise their own.
“Coming in, we wanted to move the ball up quickly to our forwards,” Olopade said, “ but a lot of times we were losing possession in our back half which ended up getting us in trouble.”
In order to bounce back from the lopsided loss, all 11 Quakers and their coaches need to get on the same page, as the Ivy League season begins Saturday at home against Cornell.
“We as coaches need to do a better job of getting the team ready to play at a high level.” Fuller said. “On a day like today, they weren’t ready to play at a high level.”
The Red and Blue are already putting this game behind them and looking forward to the League opener.
“I don’t think there’s any question that the guys are going to be ready to go on Saturday,” Fuller said, despite his repetitions about a lack of readiness.
“I think we have too much pride, and we’re a far better team that what we showed against Penn State.”
