“Preseason is over,” Barber said. “We definitely know that the results start to count now. It’s good that we’ve played teams close [so far], but we can’t lose close games anymore.”

While the Quakers enter the game with a better record than the Crimson, Harvard feels that its accomplishments are best measured in factors other than wins and losses.

“The Virginia game [last Sunday] was the best we’ve played all year, effort-wise and soccer-wise,” Barber said. “We know the level we can play at.”

Additionally, although Penn has the better record, it has only played two teams with winning records and no ranked teams.

Harvard, on the other hand, has played against four teams with winning records and four teams currently ranked in the top 25.

“No offense to Penn, but they’re not a top 25 team,” senior midfielder Katie Westfall said.

Despite the importance of the game, Wheaton knows that every match is another opportunity for his players to learn.

“We’ve played some of the top teams in the country and it’s going to be a good test for us to see what we need to work on,” he said.

Defeating the Quakers would be a great first step for the Crimson in its quest for the Ivy League championship, a feat that has thus far eluded all of the current players on the team.

Penn has not lost since October 16, 2002, when it fell to Delaware 1-0.

Although Harvard is confident in its abilities, none of its members are ready to write off any of the other teams in the league.

“The Ivy League is incredibly competitive this year, not only with the relative equality of the teams but also with the emotional components,” Wheaton said.