The win against Binghamton Wednesday was exactly what Penn women’s soccer needed.
The Quakers must use their momentum to its fullest in order to defeat Dartmouth tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Rhodes Field.
Binghamton arrived in Philadelphia with plenty of confidence, having won six out of its last eight games. However, Rhodes Field has been known to be particularly rough on opponents this season. In a total team effort, the Red and Blue (7-3-2, 1-2 Ivy) defeated the Bearcats, 3-0.
The Big Green (6-5, 2-1 Ivy) are also coming into the game off of a win — a 2-1 victory over inter-state rival New Hampshire.
Last season, Dartmouth was the victor when these two teams matched up. The Big Green beat Penn 2-0 in Hanover, N.H.
Coach Darren Ambrose knows that his team has a tough task ahead of it in the Big Green.
“It’s going to be a very competitive game,” he said. “We respect our opponents. They’ve got good players just like we do.”
The headliner for Penn this season has been senior Jessica Fuccello, who scored another goal Wednesday to increase her season total to 13 — good for tops in the Ivy League.
But Fuccello and the rest of the Quakers’ offensive unit won’t easily find the back of the net. Dartmouth is second in the Ivy League in goals allowed, as the Big Green have only given up 12 goals in 2009.
Freshman Aurelia Solomon is a big part of Dartmouth’s defensive stinginess this season. The rookie from Washington has been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week twice so far this season, most recently for her help off the bench in the Big Green’s 2-1 double overtime win over Princeton Oct. 3.
Despite the seemingly stacked odds, Ambrose expects nothing but the usual from his players as they prepare to take on League-leading Dartmouth.
“We’re going to do the same thing we’ve done every week,” Ambrose said. “We want to continue what we did [against Binghamton] and take better care of the ball especially in the middle turf.”
After an Ivy loss to Columbia last weekend, the Quakers know they need a conference win to get them back on track.
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