W. Soccer pounded at soggy Dartmouth, 8-0

The soccer field was soaking wet as a light drizzle covered Hanover, N.H, Saturday. It was just a messy day, especially considering the women's soccer result. Just 10 minutes into the first half, a Penn throw-in skipped away from the midfielders. Capitalizing on the error, Dartmouth took the ball downfield and Jenna Kurowski sunk it into the back of the net. From there the Big Green cruised to an 8-0 win over Penn. "At the half, I told them it's 6-0. Either we can make this the worst loss ever or say, 'We didn't travel eight hours to be embarrassed,' " Baker said. The Quaker offense was stifled throughout the game as Penn spent most of the time with the ball in its backfield. "We lost a lot of forward momentum when they scored the first two times," junior co-captain Heike Krippendorff said. "After that, we played very defensively." Although frustration seemed to be building, Baker insisted the team's 0-5 record (0-2 Ivy) hasn't gotten the team or him down. "It's been a rude introduction for me," said Baker, who suffered his worst loss as a college coach. "It's a taste in my mouth I quickly want to do away with. It makes me a more committed coach because I'm going to spend an extra hour calling recruits or watching tapes." "It's very frustrating," sophomore Jill Brown said. "You've got to keep your head up. We're trying to be positive. It's too early to give up. Hopefully we'll see a turnaround. It can only get better from this point." Baker insisted Penn is worrying more about player development and improving as a team than its record. "We cannot be concerned with wins and losses," Baker said. "I like to win as much as the next person. We're trying to take care of things that occurred a year ago. If you ask any player on the team, they'll say they're a better player now than any other time in their career at Penn." Despite the embarrassing loss to Dartmouth, Penn will look toward tomorrow's game against Lehigh as a possible spirit booster. "Losing is frustrating, but I'm not giving up hope," Krippendorff said. "You just get up and keep going. Hopefully, Lehigh will be good for us as far as team morale goes." Meanwhile, Baker will continue coaching his team as he has all season and awaits a rematch against the Big Green. "When we come back to Dartmouth in two years, we're going to put on a performance," Baker said. "They consider us the doormat of the Ivy League." In 1996 in Hanover, Baker believes the only messy part of the game will be the field.

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