M. Soccer is now playing with pride

With his head bowed in exhaustion and disbelief, junior Pat Larco sat at the edge of the soccer field as his teammates walked slowly from the field. After Tuesday's loss to American, Larco and the Penn men's soccer squad vowed they would not find themselves defeated and without pride again. This Sunday at Dartmouth, the Quakers are out to prove they learned their lesson. "After the game, the team came together," Larco said. "We decided that something had to be done. We knew we were a better team and we had to step up the intensity of the game." After practices this week, the team is confident it will improve its play dramatically. "I feel really good about the team," sophomore Alan Waxman said. "We were practicing a lot harder this week than we were before. We are more focused." In the final game of last year's season, Dartmouth defeated the Quakers 2-1 at Rhodes Field. The Big Green will be sporting a squad nearly identical to last year, now fortified with experience. Six seniors will start for Dartmouth. Providing a serious offensive threat, forward Chris Mitchell and midfielder Blane Leger will match up with Penn's top scorers Steve Marcinkiewicz and Larco. Both Penn coach George O'Neill and Dartmouth coach Frances O'Leary are new coaches. "Coach O'Neill is very respected," O'Leary said. "I'm sure he'll come out with a fit, organized side." After a long bus trip, the Quakers are hoping they will be able to turn their anger and disappointment from Tuesday into concentrated play. "We will have to let the ball do the running for us and force them to play our game," junior Pat Brannigan said. "The best thing we can do to finish the plays is keep composed and confident," Larco said.