M. Soccer | Long trip to New Hampshire where an 'L' means long odds

By ANDY KUHN

Contributing Writer

dpsports@dailypennsylvanian.com

The seven-hour ride to New Hampshire will be almost as challenging for the men's soccer team as the actual game with Dartmouth.

That's because of what the ride home might mean. The fear of departing with an "L" to an Ivy League opponent is motivation enough for the Quakers to play at the top of their game.

"We don't want to be on a bus thinking about a loss," senior forward Omid Shokoufandeh said. "We want to be on a bus for eight hours thinking about how we won."

The Granite State is known for its all-important Presidential primary dogfights that often determine the dynamics of ensuing elections, so it's only fitting that the Quakers (7-2-3, 1-1 Ivy) face a stiff challenge with serious playoff implications.

The team evened its conference record after a loss to Columbia on Saturday in which the Red and the Blue outplayed the Lions in all aspects save the final score. Another Ancient Eight defeat could deliver a fatal blow to the Quakers' NCAA aspirations.

"This is playoff soccer," Shokoufandeh said. "If we lose another game, we possibly won't win the Ivy League, possibly not get a berth in the NCAA. So right now we're against the wall, and we have to come out and play."

After posting seven shutouts and going undefeated in their first 10 games, the Quakers have now dropped two in a row. The losses to Lehigh and Columbia have brought them somewhat back down to earth.

"The funny thing about soccer is it can go any way, any day," Shokoufandeh said. "It's just that we need to be more determined in our finishing, I guess. We need to be able to put away teams, and be able to cruise to victory, rather than having to score three goals sometimes."

Despite their recent setbacks, the Quakers have no intention of changing their gameplan, because of the dominating way in which they have performed in the losses.

"We felt good about the way we played against Lehigh, we felt good about the chances we created against Columbia," coach Rudy Fuller said. "So it's not the time to go back to the drawing board. We just have to play up to our capabilities, and if we can do that, we can win games. It's as simple as that."

The Big Green are no pushovers. Possessing a traditionally stingy defense, they also feature Craig Henderson, a senior forward who played for New Zealand's 2008 Olympic soccer team and has four goals this year. They're dangerous because they can win in a variety of ways, leaning on their defense or racking up several goals.

"The difference in the team this year is perhaps their special players coming forward," Fuller said. "It makes them a little bit more dangerous in the attack and makes them a much more balanced team."

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