PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's soccer team and James C. Gentle head coach Brian Gill have officially announced their 2021 schedule, sporting 16 matches with 10 on their home turf of Rhodes Field.
 
"We have all been waiting a long time to announce our upcoming schedule," said Gill. "This is something that our alums, fans, parents, coaches, and most importantly our players will be thrilled to see in print. As a staff we feel strongly that the schedule has all the components to challenge us out of conference to prepare us for the Ivy League and hopefully beyond. At the end of the day, we are just energized to prepare for games again."  
 
The season kicks off on the road at Fairleigh Dickinson in Teaneck, New Jersey, an opponent the Quakers have not started the year off against since 1972. They follow it up with four-straight home matches, including their opener on Rhodes Field against Colgate on September 6. The rest of the home stretch sees nationally-ranked Penn State come to Philadelphia, followed by Loyola Maryland and Mount St. Mary's (Md.).
 
Prior to Ivy League competition, Penn takes on two more non-conference opponents on the road at Rutgers and back at Rhodes Field against Monmouth, a squad that made the NCAA tournament last season.
 
The Ivy schedule opens against Cornell on October 2 at home, with four of the seven matches being played at Rhodes Field. Other home competition is Dartmouth (Oct. 16), Yale (Oct. 23) and Princeton (Nov. 6).
 
Amid the conference schedule, the Quakers stay local for two more non-conference matchups. On October 12, they will host Drexel then it the road on October 19 for a matchup at Temple.
 
The first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship is set for November 18, with all roads leading to WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina for the title match on December 12.
 
 
A FEW NOTES ON THE MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE
 
*The Quakers have not played against Fairleigh Dickinson since 2012, taking a 3-2 victory at neutral territory during the Princeton Invitational. The last time Penn opened the season against FDU was in 1972, defeating the Knights, 10-0, on the road. That season, the Quakers posted a 14-1-1 overall record and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, arguably the best season in program history.
 
*Penn has only played Colgate one time in program history, defeating the Raiders, 3-1, in 1974 at home.
 
*The Quakers will look to continue their success against Loyola Maryland at Rhodes Field, last playing the Greyhounds in 2005 with a 2-0 victory.
 
*Overtime has been a regular occurrence against Drexel with the last two matchups seeing extra time. In the last showing in 2019, the Quakers defeated the Dragons on the road, 1-0, with an overtime golden goal by Jack Rosener.
 
*In another Philadelphia matchup, Penn maintains a 23-7-7 record against Temple, most recently taking a tight 1-0 victory over the Owls at Rhodes Field in 2019 following a Joey Bhangdia game-winner in the 54th minute.
 
*The non-conference schedule has one team that ended last season ranked in the top 25, No. 14 Penn State, and two squads that made the NCAA tournament including the Nittany Lions and Monmouth.
 
*Since taking the helm in 2018, Coach Gill has had two seasons of .500 or better, accumulating 12 wins. In 2019, he wrapped up the Ivy League with a 3-1-3 record for 12 points and second place in the standings after a strong four-match ending with wins over No. 24 Yale and Harvard and draws against Brown and Princeton.
 
 
2021 MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE
September 3 (7 p.m.): at Fairleigh Dickinson
September 6 (7 p.m.): vs Colgate
September 10 (7 p.m.): vs Penn State
September 13 (7 p.m.): vs Loyola Maryland
September 17 (7 p.m.): vs Mount St. Mary's (Md.)
September 20 (7 p.m.): at Rutgers
September 25 (7 p.m.): vs Monmouth
October 2 (5 p.m.): vs Cornell*
October 9 (7 p.m.): at Columbia*
October 12 (7 p.m.): vs Drexel
October 16 (5 p.m.): vs Dartmouth*
October 19 (7 p.m.): at Temple
October 23 (7 p.m.): vs Yale*
October 30 (3 p.m.): at Brown*
November 6 (7 p.m.): vs Princeton*
November 13 (TBA): at Harvard*
 
* Ivy League