PHILADELPHIA - The time is now. 

The University of Pennsylvania men's soccer program is ready to begin its 2019 campaign, opening the season on the road at Monmouth for a Friday night tilt.  

MATCH DAY 1 - Penn (0-0, 0-0 Ivy League) at Monmouth (0-1, 0-0 MAAC)
Friday, September 6 | 7 p.m. | Hesse Field on The Great Lawn | Live Stats

Series Information
Series tied 1-1 | Last meeting: 2018 (Penn, 3-2 OT)

Penn and Monmouth are meeting for the third-straight season to open the year for the Quakers, with each team splitting wins on their own home field. The Hawks took a 2-0 decision in New Jersey in 2017, before the Red and Blue returned the favor in 2018, winning a dramatic 3-2 contest in the rain on Rhodes Field in Brian Gill's first game as head coach. Joey Bhangdia scored a goal for Penn last season against the Hawks, while Alex Touche headed home the game winner from Brandon Bartel in overtime.

Aye, Aye Captain
Senior Brandon Bartel and junior Alex Touche have been tabbed as captains for the Quakers in 2019. 

Returning All-Ivy
Penn returns two All-Ivy honorees from last season in both Touche and Bartel. Touche, a second-team All-Ivy member as a freshman and first-team pick last year, owns six career goals, including a team-high five last season. Bartel has nine career assists to his name. 

Non-Conference
Penn went 3-1-5 in the non-conference last season, with its only loss coming on the road to Milwaukee. The Quakers' three non-conference victories in 2018 came against Monmouth, Marquette and Delaware. 

Klutch Kohlbrenner
Jake Kohlbrenner enters his junior season with six career goals, matching Touche for the team lead of all returning players. A Kohlbrenner goal has been a sure sign of success for the Quakers, as Penn is 5-0-1 when the New York native scores. 

Stout Defense
Penn's most notable improvement from last season was its defense, as the Quakers allowed just 15 goals in 16 matches, leading to a sub-one goals against average for the first time since 2010. The Quakers also led the Ivy League with seven shutouts on the year, their most since 2010 as well. 

Freshman Infusion
Friday will mark the first opportunity for collegiate playing time for a group of eight freshmen, including Nick Christoffersen, Alex Kades, Firas Kora, Kai Lammers, Jacob Muchnick, Thomas Robinson, Jack Rosener and Nick Schimbeno.

Scouting the Hawks
Monmouth is coming off a season-opening loss at home to 23rd-ranked West Virginia last week, 1-0. Picked to finish eighth out of 11 teams in the MAAC, the Hawks went 2-14-1 last season but have won nine regular season conference titles in 15 years under head coach Robert McCourt. The Hawks were outshot 18-6 against the Mountaineers while Monmouth goalkeeper Sean Murray collected seven saves in defeat.