W. Soccer faces Columbia

The Phillies can reserve themselves a spot in the World Series with one more win over Atlanta. But if the Penn women's soccer team (0-3 Ivy League, 1-5-1 overall) could steal a victory at Columbia today, it would be the Quakers' World Series. Facing the possibility of losing its 18th-straight Ivy League game, Penn looks to a struggling Columbia squad (0-3, 0-7) today in New York to help it erase that tragic number. "This is the game that we are going to break the Ivy losing streak," freshman forward Yuka Morita said. "This isn't going to be the 18th [loss]." Columbia, which is winless in league play this year will also be looking to Penn as a stepping stone to victory number one. However, Quaker optimism points to the fact that a younger, less-experienced Penn squad took Columbia into overtime a year ago before falling 1-0. "We had some good practices following the Harvard game," Morita said. "We are going to come into the game mentally strong. Nobody wants to travel all the way to New York and lose." The Quakers have also sought out a new 3-5-2 game formation. This means that they will play three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards. Penn is confident that this new style will turn game tempo in its favor. "The new formation should help a lot," sophomore midfielder Heike Krippendorf said. "We have a solid midfield, so the forwards can go to the net more and the halfbacks can move the ball. The formation focuses on the halfbacks keeping the ball on the outside, and then crossing it over to the middle, where the forwards will be waiting." New style or not, Penn will still have to put the ball in the net to win – something it has had extreme trouble doing in the early going this season. In Columbia, the Quakers will face a tough front line led by seniors Liz Harris and Trisha Cunnane. Harris was the first player this year to score on a nationally-ranked Army squad that was 10-0 with 10 shutouts going into its contest with Columbia. This scoring threat, coupled with Columbia having one of the best goalies in the league might make the going tough for the Quakers. With an eye towards goalies, this might be the matchup of the top keepers in the league as Penn's Debbie Goldklang and the Lions' Diana Howansky combine for the best stats in the Ivy League. In 13 games combined, the two have faced 197 shots and yielded only 37 goals. Goldklang, however, should hold the advantage, being a four-year starter and current Ivy League leader in saves with a remarkable 87 saves in 107 shots. The Penn team will also rely on an offense that is improving with each game. The midfielders, led by Krippendorf and fellow sophomores Meg Kinney and Kelly Nolan form the nucleus of the new formation. They will attempt to cross the ball inside to a front line led by frosh sensation Yuka Morita. "We are never going to lose again 5-0 (the score of the Harvard game)," Morita said. "We are going to enter the game focused and with Kelly [Nolan] now at midfield it should help out a lot. These little changes and our strong confidence should have a lot of effect on the outcome of the game." With the two teams so close, it could be a mental breakdown that could spell defeat for either squad. Penn has proved its skills, it has a threatening offense, a tough defense and an exceptional goalie. "We expected to win against Harvard," Krippendorf said. "We were in the game until the first goal and then we had a mental breakdown and the game was lost. After the game we asked ourselves what are we doing wrong. We want this win real bad, none of us want the streak to go on, we'll just have to see."