Coming off of a 1-0 loss to Cornell last Sunday, the Quakers (2-3, 0-1 Ivy) will travel an hour north to face the Lafayette Leopards on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Rappolt Field. If Penn capitalizes on its strengths Wednesday, it can expect to win against the Leopards, who are still recovering from a weak 2013 season and have been off to a less-than-favorable start this year.
Three Up
Alexa Hoover: Freshman Alexa Hoover has been leading the Quakers offensively, scoring six goals and 14 points in the first five games, and is one of the strongest offensive players in the Ivy League. She was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week twice in her first three weeks of collegiate field hockey, the first Quaker to do so since 2009. Hoover has been a refreshing and exciting addition to the Red and Blue this season and will prove to be one of the key players in the game against Lafayette.
Allison Weisenfels: Senior goalkeeper Allison Weisenfels has played a surprising yet crucial role in Penn’s success this season. After seeing her play every minute this season, one might be surprised that Weisenfels only played two games prior to this year due to injuries. It seems as though she may be making up for lost time, as this season she has saved an impressive 27 shots on goal and has a 1.60 goals-against average.
Penn’s Defense: Penn’s defense has performed remarkably well this year, allowing only eight goals. Thanks to the Quakers’ strong defense, all of Penn’s losses this year have been extremely close, each ultimately determined by a single goal. In contrast, the Leopards’ defense has been off to a rough start, allowing their opponents to score 18 goals in their first eight games.
Three Down
Penn on the road: The Quakers may face some difficulty as they leave Ellen Vagelos Field and travel to Lafayette’s Rappolt Field. Penn faltered in its first away game this Sunday, losing to Cornell, 1-0. Despite the score, Penn had an impressive and exciting first game of the Ivy season. The Quakers only allowed Cornell to score once despite the Big Red’s offensive pressure, a testament to Penn’s strong defense led by Allison Weisenfels.
Amanda Magadan: Lafayette’s sophomore forward Amanda Magadan could prove to be an obstacle for the Quakers. Magadan was named to the USA U-21 squad this summer, had a strong preseason, and has had an impressive start to the season for the Leopards. She leads Lafayette offensively with four goals and nine points. Magadan proved to be key to Lafayette’s 3-1 win against Monmouth, tallying two goals and an assist.
A renewed Lafayette: Last season was one of rebuilding for the Leopards. This season, Lafayette welcomes talent from abroad. Additions to the Leopards include freshmen Rosie Shanks from Scotland and Ellen Colbourne from Canada. The team has also added two assistant coaches, Emily Janis and Joachim Civico. The Leopards were disappointed with the way their previous season ended, with a poor regular season record and loss in the first round of the Patriot League playoffs. It is clear through their new additions that the Leopards hope to avenge their losses and turn things around in 2014.
Penn men’s soccer heads to Penn State on Wednesday to take on the No. 7 Nittany Lions. It seems to be Penn’s luck that a week after facing two top 15 ranked squads that it takes on another one so soon. With coach Rudy Fuller preparing his team with the best competition possible for Ivy play, we give you a Three Up, Three Down…
Three Up
Forrest Clancy- The junior midfielder scored for the first time in his Penn career on Sunday, giving the Red and Blue a nice two-goal advantage against Big 5 rival Temple. While he may not always be relied on to score, Clancy will still be an important cog in Fuller’s system in the midfield. After a strong game against the Owls, he is certainly trending upward.
Max Polkinhorne and Penn’s defense- What’s the best way for a goalkeeper and defense to look good? A clean sheet, of course. Despite 12 shots being directed at the junior keeper, Polkinhorne was able to fend off each effort while the defense kept anything more threatening from getting his way. No. 10 Penn State will certainly be a tough test, especially after the Quakers dealt with then-No. 10 Washington and No. 12 American, but this defense should be up for it.
The bench- After Clancy’s goal on Sunday, junior Sam Engs added a goal himself, his second of the season and the fourth of his career. The California native has always come off the bench for Fuller and is a shining example of the depth that the Quakers have this season. If Engs and company can keep it up in the next few weeks, Penn’s depth can help overwhelm other Ivy League squads.
Three Down
Penn State opponents’ possession numbers- The Nittany Lions dominated Ohio State from start to finish in their second Big Ten contest on Saturday. Penn State held possession for the majority of the match against the Buckeyes, and were able to fire off a whopping 22 shots. Of course, only one of those found the back of the net in a 1-0 Nittany Lions win.
Penn’s grueling stretch- Tonight’s match will be the final contest in a five game non conference swing that featured four road matches and three matchups against top 15 teams. Looking forward, the Quakers won’t be facing anyone that received a vote in the most recent NCAA top 25 poll.
Corner kicks- The Quakers haven’t had very many chances to get their set pieces in order in recent contests. Washington, American and Temple all held the Red and Blue to three or fewer corner kicks when they played each other. Against a Penn State squad that can assert its dominance early, the Quakers will need to establish a presence deep in the Nittany Lions’ defensive third of the pitch.
Fans going to Penn football home games this season will have the chance to get up close and personal with some very special hardware.
Penn Athletics announced in a release today that both the Heisman Trophy and the Outland Trophy will be on display for photo opportunities at every Penn football home game this season.
The trophies will be located in the George A. Weiss Pavilion atrium starting three hours before the game and remain there until halftime.
Both trophies have specific connections to Penn football history.
The Heisman, given out annually to the most outstanding player in college football, is named after John Heisman, who played at Penn and coached the team from 1920-22.
The Outland Trophy, given to the most outstanding interior lineman in college football, is named after John Outland, an All-American tackle/halfback for the Quakers in 1897 and 1898.
Ironically, no Penn player has ever won either trophy.
It seems pretty commonplace nowadays.
Early on every season, Penn football takes on Villanova and — at least every time within recent memory — it loses.
However, it wasn’t all that long ago that the two teams playing was far from a familiar occurrence.
A little less than 15 years ago on Sept. 25, 1999, the Quakers and Wildcats decided to rejuvenate a Big 5 rivalry that had lain dormant for the previous 19 years.
Anticipation was high for the matchup, as special $5 ticket prices and a late 5 p.m. Saturday start time facilitated a crowd tallying well over 20,000.
“Even when you get 10,000 people in this stadium, it looks like there’s no one here,” then-Penn linebacker Jim Hisgen said. “So it’s just nice to see a lot of people cheering for you.”
The Red and Blue may have waited a long time for the matchup, but once the game started, it couldn’t end fast enough for the Quakers.
Penn — which was previously 5-1 against Villanova — was run straight off of Franklin Field by the opposing Wildcats, losing handily, 34-6.
The Quakers hung in there for a quarter, staying within three points of their opponent, but after that, it wasn’t close.
Ranked No. 14 in Division I-AA football, this was a different Villanova team than the Quakers were accustomed to facing historically.
The Wildcats had a lot of athleticism out on the edges of the field, and they made it very evident throughout the game.
“There was a significant speed differential at the skill positions, both in their secondary versus our receivers and their receivers versus our secondary,” Penn coach Al Bagnoli — now in his final season — said. “I think we would’ve done OK if they’d tried to run the ball 30, 40, 50 times.”
Villanova parlayed these advantages into an absolute clinic in the passing game.
Wildcats quarterback Chris Boden broke his own school-record with 424 yards in the air off of 33-for-43 passing.
“We have a ton of weapons,” Boden said. “We’re just waiting to use them all.”
Meanwhile, Penn’s offense was overwhelmed by the athleticism present on the other side of the ball. Then-quarterback Gavin Hoffman was limited to a meager 108 passing yards off of only 7.7 yards per catch.
The Quakers did manage to retain possession of the ball for 28 minutes, but they simply did not have the firepower to compete with the Wildcats.
Since then, Penn has played Villanova nearly every season and has failed to win any of these matchups. In fact, Penn hasn’t beaten Villanova since 1911.
A few weeks ago, Penn football didn’t even know who its starting punter was going to be.
Now, it just may have a keeper.
Playing in his first game after being named the starter, freshman Hunter Kelley was named Ivy Rookie of the Week for his debut performance against Jacksonville on Saturday.
Forced to punt six times on a rainy, sloppy afternoon, Kelley averaged 42 yards per punt, and pinned the Dolphins inside their 20-yard line twice. Two of Kelley’s punts travelled longer than 50 yards, including one 58-yard effort.
Last year, punters Max Kurucar and Donald Panciello combined to average only 36.8 yards per kick, and only three of their punts were longer than 50 yards.
It’s early, but the Red and Blue just may have found their punter of the future if Kelley can keep this up.
The season is just on its way for Penn football. Come in live to Jacksonville as we bring you the action
Live Blog Penn football vs. Jacksonville
Live Blog Penn football vs. Jacksonville
Live Blog Penn football vs. Jacksonville
Can Penn football take down Jacksonville? Our editors debate
Welcome back to Haiku Corner, a place where Penn Athletics' upcoming weekend is summarized three lines at a time.
Flight to Florida
Bagnoli ready to go
Eyes on Torgersen
American goal
Sets Quakers back a little
Temple is up next
Forget loss to Tribe
Penn has many injuries
Sawczuk plays near home
Ivy play begins now
Penn looks to its strong attack
Weisenfels keeps on
Wagner's season starts
McCurdy and Beamish lead
Mansfield on live stream
Back from Golden State
Red and Blue morale quite high
Big 5 comes to Penn
While Penn has a
strong set of captains (just look at the front cover) to lead the team
in 2014, there are plenty of players and position groups with something
to prove. Across offense, defense and special teams, the Quakers will
look to shore up a few spots in order to compete with an Ivy title.
After all, if any part of Penn’s team appears to be weak, the rest of
the Ivy League will look to exploit said weakness. Our editors debate
which position group has the most to prove.
Sports Editor Ian Wenik: I’m
going to come out and say that the secondary has plenty to prove. Last
year, I wrote a story for our supplement talking about how a plethora of
veterans in the defensive backfield was going to shut down the rest of
the Ivy League. What did Penn’s pass defense promptly do? It surrendered
240.7 yards per game, a middling fifth-best in the conference. The
Quakers let their opponents complete 62.7 percent of their passes, the
third-worst mark in the Ancient Eight.
Penn
has plenty of talent returning in its secondary — fifth-year seniors
Dan Wilk and Evan Jackson, just to name a few — but it’s a long way back
to the top for a secondary that helped Penn win an Ivy title just two
years ago.
Senior Sports Editor Steven Tydings:
It’s tough to say anybody but the kickers. Special teams can be a
thankless job and fall under the radar, but it is extremely important to
any team’s success. In 2012, it seemed like whenever Penn needed a
clutch kick, then-sophomore Connor Loftus was there to make it, especially during the Quakers’ 20-17 homecoming win against Brown.
But
last season was different as the Red and Blue went 4-for-13 on field
goals, setting themselves back in multiple games. While junior Jimmy
Gammill
has impressed during camp, we will have to see whether he can get the
job done within games. If he struggles or gets hurt again, Loftus or
sophomore Aron Morgan could get a few reps at the all-important
placekicker spot.
Sports Editor Holden McGinnis: I
think a young and inexperienced offensive line is going to have the
most to prove. The Quakers are fielding a group with a combined five starts between them last season, and they graduated a core group of veteran linemen, including first-team All-Ivy center Chris Bush.
Though
Penn had a strong offensive performance last season against Cornell —
when three of this year’s projected starters made starts — this group is
definitely one of the largest question marks for coach Al Bagnoli.
Bagnoli even said so during the Ivy League preseason media
teleconference. Every strong offensive performance starts in the
trenches, and if this group can’t find a way to protect sophomore
quarterback Alek Torgersen, it’ll be a long season for the Quakers.
Sports Editor Colin Henderson: I couldn’t agree more, Holden. The offensive line is a serious question mark. But what about the man that they will be tasked with protecting?
Torgersen
has approximately one quarter’s worth of play under his belt. Lighting
up Cornell in a relief role at the end of a season is one thing, but
taking the reigns of Penn’s offense is quite another. Granted, he seems
to bring a downfield passing threat that, paired with Penn’s deep squad
of receivers, could be deadly, but with an inexperienced line in front
of him, can he handle the pressure?
He certainly doesn’t have the type of mobility that
Billy Ragone had, which could make Penn’s questions on the line even
more significant. Ragone also set a pretty high mark for Penn
quarterbacks, contributing to three Ivy League championship teams. We’ll
see if Torgersen can live up to those types of expectations and have a similar level of success.
Penn football will leave the friendly confines of the Northeast for the first time in 10 years, heading to the humid metropolis of Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday.
The last time the Quakers ventured out of the Northeast was 10 years ago, a trip that was extremely successful to say the least.
To kick off the 2004 season, the Red and Blue faced off against San Diego, making a cross country flight before taking the field. Penn came in with a 16-game winning streak dating back to 2002, as the squad was two-time defending Ivy League champions.
The Toreros had a former NFL quarterback as their first-year head coach with Jim Harbaugh – now the coach of the San Francisco 49ers – patrolling the sidelines. But his NFL background wouldn’t be any help that day as Penn trounced San Diego, 61-18.
Sixty-one points scored was Penn’s most points in a game since joining the Ivy League in 1956, and the most points allowed by San Diego in a game since 1956 as well. The Quakers’ devastating attack was led by then-junior running back Sam Mathews, who scored a career-high three touchdowns and added 152 total yards.
“He was terrific,” Penn coach Al Bagnoli said of Mathews. “He is definitely one of the marquee players in our league, and I think you can see why if you watch him. He does everything for us.”
Mathews wasn’t the only Red and Blue running back to reach the century mark, as Duke transfer Von Bryant had 111 yards on just five carries. Penn ended the day with 325 yards on the ground and 494 yards overall in a shocking offensive display.
Surprisingly enough, San Diego led in time of possession despite a 26-0 deficit at halftime. The Toreros’ four turnovers and inability to stop Penn’s ground game ultimately did them in.
“They’re a physically overpowering force, and they could stop the run,” Harbaugh said of Penn.
Under Bagnoli, Penn has recruited many players from the California area, so the trip was particularly nice for those players returning home.
“We’ve got a lot of players from California and they were really excited to play in front of their people who usually have to travel all the way out from California,” Mathews said.
Penn would have its 17-game winning streak snapped a week later by local rival Villanova. The Quakers would also not be able to repeat atop the Ancient Eight, as future NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and Harvard would hand them their only Ivy loss.
On the other side of the ball, Harbaugh had a bright future in sunny San Diego. His Toreros would win their final five games of the year before back-to-back 11-1 seasons in 2005 and 2006.
Harbaugh would parlay those results into the head coaching job at Stanford, where he worked until joining the 49ers.
Penn football is getting its season started this weekend on Saturday in a nonconference tilt against Jacksonville, but some of us are already looking ahead to Ivy play. Sports Editors Ian Wenik and Holden McGinnis debate which Ancient Eight rival poses the biggest threat to the Quakers this year.
Sports Editor Ian Wenik: This is an easy one. It’s Princeton. The Tigers dealt the death blow to the Quakers last year when they came back from a 16-0 deficit to win on Homecoming, 38-26, and they’re just as much of a threat this time around. Sure, defensive tackle Caraun Reid is in the NFL now, but Princeton returns players like two-time first-team All-Ivy selection Anthony Gaffney at corner and 2013 second-team All-Ivy selection Mike Zeuli at linebacker. Their defense won’t miss a beat.
Sports Editor Holden McGinnis: While we’re on the topic of experienced defenses, how about Harvard? Princeton came away with the win against Harvard, 51-48, in three overtimes, but the Crimson pose just as serious a threat. While Harvard graduated a number of All-Ivy players in one of its strongest senior classes in recent memory, they still return dynamic players up and down their roster.
Senior defensive lineman Zach Hodges will pose an even more serious threat to the aforementioned inexperienced offensive line of the Quakers. Meanwhile, the secondary is anchored by senior defensive back Norman Hayes, Harvard’s sole captain. The Crimson still have a strong offense, led by senior quarterback Conner Hempel and junior running back Paul Stanton. Barring injury, they’ll pose serious issues for the Quakers in all phases of the game.
IW: I think that the Tigers have a thing or two to say about offensive firepower. Quinn Epperly is still Princeton’s quarterback, and who could forget his NCAA record-setting performance against Cornell, when he completed 29 passes in a row? Epperly fully deserved to be named Ivy Offensive Player of the Year last season. My only concern is that he’s lost his favorite target, wide receiver Roman Wilson, to graduation. Who will take his place? It might be one of the Tigers’ two main senior wideouts — Seth DeValve or Matt Costello.
Making matters easier for Epperly is that he has running back DiAndre Atwater in the backfield once again — Atwater averaged a solid 4.7 yards per carry last year. Outside of the question mark of No. 1 receiver, I don’t really see a major hole in Princeton’s depth chart. Do you see any weakness in Harvard?
HM: For Harvard, it’s a pretty similar situation in terms of weakness. The Crimson lost their top two receiving targets in wide receiver Ricky Zorn and tight end Cameron Brate. However, they retain most of their other offensive weapons, primarily Stanton and junior wide receiver Andrew Fischer. Hempel has plenty of weapons for his senior campaign and should be able to put up similar numbers to their third-best passing offense last season.
Verdict: It’s a draw as both are daunting competitors to the Red and Blue.
You missed Haiku Corner, didn't you? The Buzz's signature poetry feature returns, previewing a fun weekend in Penn Athletics
Quakers head out west
Shake memory of Blue Hens
Face number one Stanford
Soccer in Seattle
Poplawski and Schott come home
Try to keep winning
Playing to a draw
Chevtchenko finds back of net
Next up is the Tribe
Fairfield comes to Penn
Quakers showing some true grit
Weisenfels in goal
Start of the season
Cross country takes on Big 5
Villanova top test
Jacksonville is near
King and co. quite excited
Freshmen ready as well
For anyone in the University City area, Penn women's soccer's match tonight against St. Francis has been moved up to 6 PM due to inclement weather in the area later tonight.
The game was originally scheduled for 7 PM. Penn comes into the match with a 2-0 record after two close wins last weekend. The match will be played at Rhodes Field and will be available on the Ivy League Digital Network.
The Quakers play on Sunday as well at 2:30 against William & Mary, also at Rhodes Field.
Here is our preview of Penn's weekend matches.
Following an opening weekend in which Penn women’s soccer won two matches, the Quakers (2-0) will look to keep up the good vibes in their home matches against St. Francis (Pa.) tonight and William & Mary on Sunday. Going against the winless Red Flash, the Red and Blue will be heavily favored to win their third straight match to start the season. Here are some of the reasons why this is the case, and a few reasons why Penn needs to be careful not to slip up.
Three Up
Clutch play: To start last season, the Red and Blue notched two 4-0 wins, kick-starting a run that would eventually lead Penn to a 12-1-4 overall record. The road to start this campaign has not been an easy one, with Penn winning both games it has played by only one-goal margins. It took the Quakers overtime to win their last match against Old Dominion courtesy of a goal by freshman Kristen Miller. While they may not have shown dominance yet, this early experience should bode well for the Quakers if it is a close match against St. Francis.
Penn’s defense: When you think of Penn women’s soccer, you should think of defense. Last year, the Quakers featured one of the top statistical backlines in the country. With several difference makers — like back Haley Cooper and keeper Kalijah Terilli — returning, the same should be the case this year. They may have given up an uncharacteristic two goals in their last match, but the Quakers’ defense should stand tall tonight.
Winless opponent: St. Francis is currently 0-6 on the year, not including an exhibition contest it also lost. The Red Flash have been shut out in four of their six matches. To boot, they have been outscored by a combined total of 14 goals. Not to rub it in, but it hasn’t been pretty. This should be a golden opportunity to pick up an early season win.
Three Down
Penn’s scoring: Offense was the Quakers’ Achilles’ heel last season, and it looks like that may be the case once again this year. Despite winning both of their matches, the Quakers have only been able to produce two goal scorers in regular time thus far. Penn will look to its young players — like sophomore Lindsey Sawczuk, who notched a key score against Old Dominion — to provide a spark offensively moving forward.
Conditioning: Penn has played significantly less competitive soccer than St. Francis has to start the season. This will be the team’s third match in five days, with the last having gone into overtime, and the first significant test of its overall conditioning. It will be interesting to see if the Red and Blue have the legs to fight through the fatigue.
NCAA implications: Despite putting up a very strong overall record and impressive team statistics last season, the Quakers were snubbed from last year’s NCAA tournament. This year, they won’t want to take any chances, and a loss to a winless team would not look good on their resume moving forward.
After releasing the key opening game of its 2014–15 schedule midway through the summer, Penn women’s basketball released the rest of its slate Tuesday afternoon. And rather unsurprisingly, it’s fairly similar to last year.
The nonconference schedule features plenty of familiar faces, as the Quakers will go up against the Big Five — against whom they finished 2-2 last year — and local rival Drexel once again. The toughest of those matchups will likely be St. Joe’s, who finished 23-10 on the season and earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Red and Blue had one of their most impressive seasons in Big Five play last season, with their only two losses coming by a combined 10 points. Penn’s win over La Salle was its first at Tom Gola Arena since 1973-74.
In addition to the usual lineup of Philadelphia schools, Penn will face off against UMBC, New Hampshire and Hampton — a fellow 12-seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament — in the Palestra. The game against Hampton will provide the Quakers with a strong nonconference test in early December.
Penn also added Navy and Lafayette as road games for the season.
With three NCAA Tournament foes and a handful of programs that played in the WNIT, the Quakers now have nine games against teams that played in the postseason last year.
The Ivy slate begins and ends with double-headers with the men’s team against Princeton, starting with a Jan. 10 trip to New Jersey.
If this season plays out at all like last year, the season-ending matchup against Princeton at the Palestra will hold plenty of weight in the Ivy League standings. For those who have somehow already forgotten, last year saw Penn travel to Princeton for a de facto Ivy League championship game, which the Quakers won.
Bookended by two exciting games and filled with some interesting nonconference matchups, the schedule for Penn women’s basketball will provide the challenges necessary to prepare the team for the late season push in their Ivy title defense.
With the opening weekend come and gone, a number of freshmen had the chance to show why they were so heavily recruited by the Quakers. With the rest of the fall season in mind, these freshmen figure to have some of the largest impacts on the outcomes of their respective teams.
Sports Editor Holden McGinnis: While the performance of freshman midfielder Austin Kuhn earned him Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors this past weekend, the men’s soccer freshman who stood out to me on the pitch was back Luka Martinovic. The Bayville, N.Y. native earned the start in both matches this weekend and provided solid defensive play from the back line.
Though he only tallied one assist on the weekend, Martinovic was involved in creating a number of opportunities for the Quakers on the attack and should prove to be a key cog moving forward. As Penn works out the opening weekend kinks on defense, the freshman appears to clearly be part of the solution.
Sports Editor Ian Wenik: Since you’ve set me up so nicely, I’m going to shout out a freshman attacker on a different sport. How about Alexa Hoover on field hockey? I watched her at both of Penn’s games last weekend, and she was one of the most energetic players on the field. Against Lehigh on Friday, she scored a hat trick and added an assist for good measure. That last goal, by the way, was a particularly impressive display of athleticism. Hoover batted down a high pass with her stick and then performed the field hockey equivalent of a one-touch goal in soccer.
Sure, last year’s freshman star Jasmine Cole is gone, but if Hoover can keep up her scoring touch, the Quakers should be just fine.
Senior Sports Editor Steven Tydings: There are a lot of underclassmen who have already made impacts in their respective sports — freshman middle block Kendall Covington on Penn volleyball for example. But I’m going to focus on a freshman that has yet to make an impact, and that’s wide receiver Justin Watson for Penn football.
Looking at the talent that the Red and Blue has returning at the skill positions, it is surprising that a first-year player could crack the lineup. Freshmen don’t usually find much playing time for coach Al Bagnoli anyway, but when you have Conner Scott, Ty Taylor, Spencer Kulcsar and Cam Countryman returning, it’s tough to imagine anyone cracking the lineup.
Yet Bagnoli told The Daily Pennsylvanian that Watson is part of the first group of receivers that will take the field. Watson played high school football in western Pennsylvania, earning all-state and all-conference recognition in his senior season. For him to make it into the rotation his first season, he has some clear talent that he is ready to show off.
On Tuesday, the Ivy League released the national broadcast schedule for its football games this fall.
Penn will appear in three of the 13 national broadcasts. Penn's Oct. 4 matchup with Dartmouth will appear on Fox College Sports while the Quakers visits to Yale on Oct. 25 and Princeton on Nov. 8 will be on NBC Sports Network.
Al Bagnoli's final game as Penn's head coach will not be on national TV as NBCSN will broadcast Harvard-Yale and Fox College Sports will show Columbia at Brown that weekend.
Here is the schedule if you want to take a look at the full thing.
Students at Penn right now haven’t seen a time when anyone other than Jerome Allen was the head coach of Penn basketball. But that time did indeed exist.
On Sept. 10, 1991, then-head coach Fran Dunphy gave The Daily Pennsylvanian a sneak peak into what he thought about the players he had recruited to join the Red and Blue. One of those recruits was a 6-foot-3 guard from Episcopal Academy (Pa.) named, you guessed it, Jerome Allen.
Dunphy said at the time that he didn’t expect Allen to step right into the starting lineup but that he was hoping Allen would “challenge the four returning guards for playing time and, somewhere during the course of the season, possibly start.”
The Quakers had played through consecutive losing seasons to begin Dunphy’s time as coach. While the Quakers wouldn’t win the Ivy title in the 1991-92 season, they laid the groundwork for an era of dominance. Allen did make his way into the starting lineup, starting 20 of the 26 games he played in while averaging 12.2 points per contest.
In Allen’s sophomore, junior and senior seasons, Penn didn’t lose a single Ivy game, going a perfect 42-0 in that span led by Allen and guard Matt Maloney.
However, it wasn’t just Allen that made Dunphy’s recruiting class special. Allen was joined by 6-foot-7 forward Shawn Trice, who became a starter in the frontcourt for the Red and Blue in a short span.
Scott Kegler, a 6-foot-5 guard, and 6-foot-6 forward Eric Moore would also play parts in the Red and Blue’s impressive run.
All of this added up to a pretty impressive class that Dunphy introduced to Penn’s campus in the fall of 1991.
Penn football wasn’t in action on Saturday, but two of its future nonconference opponents faced off in a battle of ranked opponents.
No. 10 Villanova took on Fordham, which was ranked one spot below the Wildcats in the FCS polls. The result was extremely lopsided, as the higher ranked Wildcats beatdown the Rams, 50-6, at Villanova Stadium.
Villanova redshirt-junior quarterback John Robertson, who has beaten Penn each of the last two years, had a banner day both on the ground and through the air. He went 17-for-24 while throwing for 216 yards and three touchdowns and added a score on the ground.
Two of his touchdown passes went to senior wide receiver Poppy Livers, who had eight catches for 110 yards on the day. Livers scored two touchdowns against Penn last season with 121 yards receiving.
Fordham was coming off a 52-23 victory over St. Francis (Pa.) last weekend while Villanova lost in double overtime to Syracuse, an FBS opponent.
The Quakers face Villanova in its home opener on Sept. 27 before traveling to Fordham on Oct. 11 during fall break.
Penn’s first game will come on Sept. 20 against Jacksonville, a squad out of the Pioneer League.
The Dolphins started out the season on Aug. 30, falling to Southeastern Louisiana, 44-3, on the road. Jacksonville is in the middle of renovations to its stadium. The school is adding a 25-by-13 foot video screen as well as a 2,900 seat grandstand and a new pressbox.
According to Jacksonville’s website, the construction is expected to be finished by the Dolphins’ home opener on Sept. 13.
Sports Editor Colin Henderson: Volleyball may not be considered one of the marquee sports at Penn, but the team certainly held its own last year, going 8-6 in the Ivy League and 14-11 overall despite a rough start to the year. The program certainly had reason for optimism going into this season.
However, change is in the air for the program. With the loss of sophomore Arielle Winfield — who will look to walk on to the track team — and significant senior leadership in the offseason, there are questions as to how the new team will look together at the start of this season. With three home matches over the weekend, I’m looking forward to seeing how they answer the bell. How about you, Holden?
Sports Editor Holden McGinnis: All eyes should be on Rhodes Field Friday for what should be another classic in the men’s soccer matchup between Penn and Drexel. There’s a little bit of everything to this matchup. Penn’s looking to show they’re still a top program after graduating a loaded senior class and they get to do it against a University City and Big Five rival in Drexel. Last year’s match was a 3-2 thriller as the Quakers held off a late Dragons surge in the final minutes and this year should be more of the same.
And don’t forget about Central Connecticut State, which faces off against the Quakers on Sunday in the second match of the University City Classic. It’ll be unfamiliar territory for both teams as they meet for the first time. With old friends and new, there’s plenty to get excited about for men’s soccer this weekend.
Sports Editor Ian Wenik: Holden is right about coming down to Rhodes Field, but people should be swinging by a few hours earlier to watch women’s soccer take on Old Dominion. Coach Darren Ambrose’s brand of defensive-oriented soccer isn’t going to light up the scoreboard, but it grinds out results. With the team already coming off a road match at Mount St. Mary’s on Friday, I don’t expect to see any early-season sloppiness whatsoever.
Haley Cooper, Caroline Dwyer, Lauren Hammond, Kaljiah Terilli ... the list goes on. Penn’s back line and keeper can match up with any team in the Ivy League. It’ll be exciting to see them in action for the first time in 2014.
Senior Sports Editor Steven Tydings: To paraphrase Eminem, you forgot about field hockey. But seriously, the field hockey team definitely excites me going into this weekend. Speaking with senior captain Emily Corcoran early this week, the team is young, which means we will get to see them grow before our eyes. Having leadership from seniors like Corcoran will help make things go smoothly.
Regardless of which teams the Quakers are playing, those opponents are coming to a pretty nice place at Ellen Vagelos Field. A young team, some solid leaders and a great field. What more can you ask for?
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