Travis Cantrell is an alum of Penn and played under Irvine in his days as a Quaker. He appeared in 67 games from 2009 to 2012 with 13 goals and 10 assists. He was named co-captain his senior season and was honored on the Second-Team All-Ivy League.
After graduating, Cantrell played in Europe for three years before returning to the States to coach. While in Europe, he played for Lidkopings FK of the Swedish Football Division 3 and Vasa IFK of Kakkonen in Finland.