#2 Crimson presents soccer squads with challenge

Harvard star freshman Stouffer scares women Emily Stouffer is striking fear in the Penn women's soccer team for tomorrow's 6 p.m. game at Franklin Field against Harvard. No, Stouffer isn't a senior All-American for the Crimson. In fact, she's a freshman. The Rookie of the Week central midfielder already leads Harvard (3-1-2, 1-0-1 Ivy League) with two goals and three assists. "She's probably the best player we'll see all year," Quaker coach Patrick Baker said. "The kid is top notch. Emily's going to do her thing without question. If she has the ball at her feet in the middle third [of the field] as opposed to our defensive third, we'll be OK." "She's one of the best players I've ever seen play in high school," said sophomore Heather Herson, who faced Stouffer in several club soccer games in Connecticut. "If we can close her down, we can close down many of their options." Penn (1-6, 0-2) will have to watch for the rest of the Harvard team as well. "They're very quick. They don't have a lot of weaknesses," Baker said. "It's going to be a huge challenge for us. We're going to go out there and try to do the things we're capable of doing." "I would love to make Harvard this year's first Ivy win," junior co-captain Heike Krippendorff said. "They're a strong team. It could give us the boost we need. Hopefully, we'll put on a show." The Quakers will have to overcome the broken hand of freshman goalkeeper Perry Cohen. Cohen suffered the injury during the first half of Tuesday's 5-2 loss to Temple. Without any backup goalkeepers, Penn will have to play the injured Cohen. "She might have to guide [shots] away, push it around the post," Baker said. "The doctor said she's good to go. She wants to play and we don't have a backup keeper." "It's the kind of game where every person on the field is going to have to play her very best," Herson said. "We're going to have to gel as a team." Although the Quakers continue to become better acquainted with each other, they also demonstrate the flaws of a young team. "I think some folks saw us play pretty well against Temple," Baker said. "We didn't have some breaks go our way. We've worked on some little things as a team. We've got to play better possession in the midfield." The Quakers will have to control ball possession tomorrow in order to keep the ball away from Stouffer and the rest of the Harvard team.

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