Quakers hope to defend Ivy top spot

The most challenging opponent for a team with a dangerous offense and a stifling defense is a team with an equally potent offense and disruptive back four.

And this homecoming weekend, the Quakers (11-3-0, 4-0-0 Ivy) are going up against a Brown squad with a similar style to the Red and Blue.

The No. 14 Quakers will take on the No. 13 Bears at Rhodes Field on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in a matchup with large implications for the Ivy League title.

According to Penn Rudy Fuller, both teams “have dynamic guys up front and are very, very sound defensively, making them very difficult to score goals against.”

But the most striking similarity between Penn and Brown (10-1-3, 2-1-1) is their strong goalkeepers.

Penn’s senior keeper, Ben Berg, is the breakout star of the season for the Quakers, recently posting a 549:40 shutout streak that is the second-longest in program history. To put that in perspective, Berg went over nine hours of gameplay without allowing a goal.

Remarkably, Brown’s goalie, Paul Grandstrand, is doing just as well as, if not better than, Berg. The reigning first team All-Ivy goalie has eleven shutouts in fourteen games this season and leads the Ancient Eight in goals against and save percentage.

Despite Brown’s strength in net the Red and Blue are not particularly worried. “He’s a good player, but I just think if we attack the right way, we can find the back of the net against anybody,” junior midfielder Christian Barreiro said.

Barreiro also countered his coach’s argument that Brown and Penn have similar playing styles. “Every team has its own unique style of playing, and for us, restarts are … going to be especially important against Brown,” Barreiro said.

The Quakers are going to need a restart of sorts to come back from a hard-fought loss against Penn State on short rest. Coach Fuller is confident that his team is adequately rested for Saturday’s game against Brown.

“It would certainly be nice to have a full week to prepare for Brown, but having only two or three days between games is nothing we can’t handle,” Fuller said.

More importantly, the coach does not believe that the loss hurt the team’s confidence before the important Ivy match against Brown. “We know that we can go out there and play with any team on our schedule, and we have proven that this season,” he said.

The one X-factor that Fuller believes can make the difference for Penn is a strong home field advantage. “It’s a championship-caliber game at Penn, so I think if the Greeks at Penn and the Red and Blue Crew come out, it will definitely make a difference.”

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.