Patrick Baker has been very patient. Almost to a point of amazement. His women's soccer team is 0-5 and is coming off an 8-0 hammering from Dartmouth. This is his first year at Penn after leading North Carolina Wesleyan to the top 10 in Division III women's soccer. The Quakers have a freshman goalkeeper who has experienced her fair share of up and downs. Penn has four goals in five games. Yet, as the Quakers prepared for today's game at Lehigh at 4 p.m., Baker remained calm. "We're taking responsibility for ourselves to get psyched up and mentally ready for a game because that is not something Coach can do," junior Heike Krippendorff said. "He's taught us so much about the game and we've been passive in letting him do a lot. He doesn't get angry, he doesn't scream at us. He's relatively calm and that is his style. We have to take it upon ourselves to get psyched for a game." This year's team could easily bicker and fight among themselves as last year's squad did. However, the 1994 version is a more upbeat and optimistic club. Amidst the losing and frustration, a camaraderie exists that was lacking last year. Co-captains Krippendorff and Kelly Nolan have helped keep the team's spirits up with uplifting encouragement. With no seniors and a core of freshmen, the Quakers' youth has helped them persevere. Nevertheless, a winless team is never satisfied. "Hopefully, Lehigh will be the break we need," Krippendorff said. "Our team needs a win, a '1' to go in front of that '5.' Hopefully, it will get the ball rolling." The Quakers remained intense in practice and continue to focus on getting that win. Today's game plan will be similar to the one employed in recent games and no radical lineup change will be made. Penn feels its optimistic attitude will help it get that win. "People are ready to win," Krippendorff said. "I'm actually surprised with how much we've held together. At this point last season there was a whole lot of negative feeling. People still have their spirits high. We know we are not doomed -- we are not destined to lose." Lehigh's team is not as strong as Dartmouth or Cornell, who beat Penn by a combined score of 12-0. The blazing speed on the outside that killed the Quakers in their two Ivy games won't be found on the Engineer team. And with a week off after today's game, Penn knows a loss to Lehigh will ring in its head for a while. Penn realizes this is a prime opportunity to fill the win column. And they also know that Baker can't stay calm for ever.
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