W. Soccer comes close, but still falls

Sticks and stones may break its bones, but it's the title of Ivy League underdog that really hurts the Penn women's soccer team (0-5 Ivy League, 3-7-1 overall). And despite the Quakers' two-game winning streak, they resumed that role as they returned to Ivy play Saturday night against Brown (4-1, 6-6). In front of Franklin Field stands crowded with family and friends, Penn suffered another tough shutout, 1-0. From an opening cheer of "Win together," the Quakers seemed poised and prepared to win their first-ever Ivy League game, but their efforts were to no avail in the face of a tough Brown squad. "We were pretty evenly matched," sophomore forward Amaryllis Seabrooks said. "We were down but we played with them." As promised, Brown played an aggressive game on both ends of the field, racking up 29 fouls. Despite a noticeable height disadvantage, Penn stayed with the Bears physically, striking back with 15 fouls of its own. "Brown is a very strong, physical team," Penn assistant coach Dave Masterson said. "Pound for pound they were a better team, but we held up well against them." "They hit us really hard in the first half," sophomore midfielder Heike Krippendorff said. "In the second half we showed them that we wouldn't take that." Unfortunately, only the Quakers emerged the worse for wear, with both the loss and injuries. Freshman defender Anne Davies left the game early in the first half after being hit in the eye with a header, and freshman forward Yuka Morita suffered an ankle injury late in the game. "Yuka's been seeing a lot of abuse," Penn head coach Suzette Wolf said. "But she's taking it like a champ." "They were definitely a dirty team," Davies said. With 28:15 left in the second half, the referees finally stepped in, issuing a yellow card warning to Brown's senior forward Kat Alfond. Penn was held to only seven shots on goal and was unable to capitalize on the few opportunities it did get, missing several good chances in front of the net. Bears' freshman goalie Sarah Kelley made four solid saves. The Brown goal came early, with only 15:47 gone in the game, but the Quakers refused to give up. Both the offense and the defense played a close, confident game, and senior goalie Debbie Goldklang turned in an excellent performance as usual, stopping 13 Brown shots. But it was still not enough. "It was a nice shot, but it was from 35 yards out," Seabrooks said. "It wasn't a fluke, but it wasn't a lapse in defense. They got lucky because they scored first." Some of the Quakers expressed disappointment with the game. And it was not just the final result that attracted their attention. The officiating, the Franklin Field astroturf, and the overall play of their own team were all targets of the Quakers' postgame wrath. "We played pretty well," freshman midfielder Nicole Caruso said. "But we still didn't play our best. It's really hard to control the ball on turf." But there was victory in this loss, as the Quakers came together as a team to hold the Bears back. "Losing 1-0 was respectable," Krippendorff said. "We played really well, and it was almost like a win. Walking off we felt like we won."

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