Penn ready for Crimson's revenge

As the men’s soccer team travels to Boston tomorrow, it’s hoping to pull off an upset of No. 11 Harvard.

But the Crimson (12-3-1, 4-1-1 Ivy) have a couple of reasons to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Right now, they’re sitting in first place in the Ivy League with 13 points. Their position is precarious, however, as Brown and Dartmouth are tied for second place with 12. Those two play each other this weekend and the winner could claim first place should Harvard fall to the Quakers (6-7-3, 2-3-1 Ivy).

Second, Harvard is out for revenge. Last year, junior Loukas Tasigianis scored the winning goal in overtime against Harvard to help Penn claim a share of the Ivy League title, as Harvard had to settle for third place.

So Penn coach Rudy Fuller thinks the grudge match aspect will definitely play a part in the showdown.

“We were very fortunate to win the title here on our home field against them last year in dramatic fashion,” he said. “I’m sure they’d like to do the same to us this Saturday.”

“We beat them, we won the league last year, they’re trying to get revenge, so they’re going to come out and play really strong,” Tasiginis agreed.

This year, due to the loss of 12 players, the Quakers can’t repeat their dramatic clinching of the Ivy title.

Yet Fuller sees the game as a double opportunity.

“We’re going up there and trying to end our season on a high note, but we’d also love to spoil it for them if we can,” he said.

For the team, it’s about continuing to put in 100 percent effort despite the fact that the outcome can’t push them into the postseason play.

“We’ve had a strong belief in the team from the beginning, and we want to finish strong,” Tasigianis said.

With so much riding on the game for Harvard, Fuller expects the Crimson to come out and battle.

“I would imagine they’re going to bring a lot of energy to [the game] and hopefully we’re able to match that and get a good result.”

Even though Harvard senior Andre Akpan, leads the Ivy League with 11 goals, Tasigianis doesn’t expect the Quakers to change their style of play.

“We’re still going to go in with the same mentality, same game tactics and hopefully we’ll come out with a win,” Tasigianis agreed.

Maybe there will even be the same overtime heroics as in last year’s victory.

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