After winning its first outright Ivy title in 41 years, the results just keep getting better for Penn men’s soccer.
The team’s locker room erupted Monday afternoon when the Quakers watched the televised announcement that they’d be getting an unexpected home game for its automatic 2013 NCAA tournament berth. The Quakers (8-8-1) earned automatic entry into the tournament as Ivy champions but weren’t anticipating to host their first-round opponent.
But that’s just what they’ll do Thursday night at 7 p.m. when they take on Providence (12-5-3) at Rhodes Field.
“I was a little surprised based off our RPI [that we got a home game],” said Penn coach Rudy Fuller, who is 2-3 all-time in his three previous NCAA tournament appearances. “We have a lot of momentum right now, though I would say the same thing about Providence.”
Providence earned an at-large bid out of the Big East, having lost its conference title match at PPL Park in Philadelphia to Marquette on Sunday. The Friars tied Brown and beat Harvard earlier this season.
But Penn seemingly has more momentum after beating Harvard in Cambridge, 2-0, Saturday, and losing just twice in its last nine games. And don’t forget that home field advantage.
“My heart’s definitely beating pretty fast right now,” senior defender Jonny Dolezal said minutes after Penn’s place in the tournament was announced. “We definitely didn’t expect to get a home game. It’s just unbelievable. The feeling’s amazing right now.”
“Starting out at home is a good start,” junior forward Duke Lacroix said. “We have a lot of energy going in and the fans can carry that energy with us as well. Going away is a drain on us in terms of getting prepared, doing things out of routine. And a home game definitely keeps us in routine.”
Penn’s last NCAA tournament appearance came in 2010, when the Quakers knocked off Bucknell in the first round in overtime, 1-0, at Rhodes Field. They fell 4-0 to No. 4 Maryland in the next round.
And Maryland awaits the winner of this season’s Penn-Providence matchup as well.
That 2010 squad didn’t win the Ivy title but went 13-6 overall, playing a less challenging nonconference schedule than this season’s conference champs.
“I don’t think you see it in the records, but you see it in the locker room,” Fuller said on the similarities between the two NCAA tourney teams.
“There’s something special about this team,” Dolezal said. “It’s hard to compare 2010 to 2013, but I think the biggest difference is the momentum we have this year leading up to this first-round game.”
Penn has allowed just 24 goals after surrendering 37 a season ago, a resurgent defensive effort that has helped the Quakers turn around a squad that went 3-13 in 2012.
“The spring season definitely drove home the point that we needed to be better defensively, and we worked on it, worked on it, worked on it, and finally started to hit our stride,” senior forward Stephen Baker said.
And if Penn’s NCAA appearance Thursday shares the late-game theatrics and home crowd support of its previous first-round tourney matchup, Rhodes Field is in for another showdown to remember.
“I would expect a really good game Thursday night,” Fuller said.
SEE ALSO
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