Penn's Goldner has made the jump in his junior year and is looking to make history

Meme expert. Spikeball extraordinaire. Most goals in a season in Penn history? 

Nine games into the season, junior attackman Adam Goldner currently sits tied for seventh in the Penn history books for most goals in a single season. And with three games remaining in the regular season, he is just ten goals away from the single season record for goals scored.

For most, ten goals may seem like a lot. But not for Goldner, who has already surpassed his season total of 28 goals from last season.

Goldner sits third in the nation in goals scored per game with 3.67; his total is 33. For context, Penn (6-3, 4-0 Ivy) has scored 123 goals this season. This means that Goldner has scored about 27 percent of the team's goals to this point.

“[His play] has really impacted [the offense] in a positive manner,” senior attackman Tyler Dunn said. “Especially on face-offs, if we have Kyle Gallagher running down then we have two good options: Simon Mathias and Adam Goldner at the point with Dylan Gergar and Sean Lulley down at the pipe. So, it’s really pick your poison in that situation.”

The skills have always been there for Goldner. This offseason, coach Mike Murphy could not point to one major deficiency in his game, but instead prepared him to be more vocal as a leader as he transitioned to an upperclassman.

“I talked to coach Murphy, and the thing I really focused on the most was elevating the elastics of my game,” Goldner said. “There wasn’t really one area that I wanted to key in on, but I just wanted to improve myself in all areas, whether that be stick work, shooting, being bigger faster stronger, that sort of stuff as well.”

In the locker room, Goldner leads his teammates by example. Always on time and prepared for every practice, scrimmage, and game, he even brings extra equipment just in case he or any of his teammates need it. This season in particular, he has become more vocal as a leader both on the field and in the locker room.

“When you hear Adam’s voice go up, everyone knows it’s time to get serious, and that’s huge coming from a senior captain. Having other guys and other leaders in other grades making an impact – it’s really huge,” Dunn said.

Goldner is not all work and no play, though. Described by teammates as a comical and sarcastic guy, he is often called upon for his ability to create memes on the fly.

“If we ever have long bus rides and see someone catching some sleep, we’re always like, ‘Hey Goldner, check out who’s asleep,’ and he’ll create a quick meme about that, throw it in our group chat and get some laughs [out of the team],” Dunn said.

Additionally, Goldner spends much of his time studying and playing Spikeball at Franklin Field. He is studying at the Wharton School and is concentrating in Management. 

“Being a Division I athlete at Penn, I find myself doing a lot of school work. It’s a lot of coursework and it’s pretty demanding,” Goldner said.

Goldner’s excellent play this season has put the Quakers on a six-game win streak. The offense is currently seventh in the nation in goals per game with 13.67 goals per contest. 

This win streak has come at the heels of a three-game losing streak to start the season – during which the offense was averaging 11 goals per game.

But, as the offense improved, the team’s record and morale did too. 

“[During this win streak], morale is great. When we were 0-3, it was surprisingly positive. I think the seniors especially did a great job emphasizing that it was early,” Murphy said. “We learned from our mistakes and learned how to win and we really embraced that. Things have just been getting more and more positive and what we call bringing the juice and just having more fun.”

Goldner and the Quakers will look to put their win streak and undefeated Ivy League record on the test this weekend when they travel to Harvard.