W. Soccer falls to violent Owls

Temple 'beats' Quakers, 5-2 Yuka Morita forgot her boxing gloves at home. But that didn't stop her from throwing a crushing right hand to the midsection of a Temple forward in a heated battle at Franklin Field last night. A heated battle in which the Penn women's soccer team came up on the short end of a 5-2 contest. The Quakers (1-6) came into the game expecting to face a physical Owl team, but what transpired last night was more than just a couple extra bumps and bruises. "They're a physical team, but they're not just physical, they're dirty," Morita said. "They are the dirtiest team we play. Along with the [poor] referees, I admit I got a little frustrated -- sick of being punched and kicked from behind and getting no calls. After a while it takes a toll on you. So I just gave her a punch as she went by." "It was a very physical game and we were getting kids kicked all over the park," Quaker coach Patrick Baker said. "And poor Yuka was getting shoved. If it was anywhere outside these soccer lines, some kid on Temple would get arrested." The 5-2 score was not quite indicative of the play on the field. Temple (4-6) scored just three minutes into the game on its first shot on goal. The Quakers are making an unfortunate habit out of giving up early goals at home. And the being forced to Play catch-up all game has made life tough for first-year coach Baker. But Penn did not lie down and concede the game after falling down 1-0. Just eight minutes later, Morita hit sophomore Nicole Caruso with a beautiful centering pass, and the Quakers tied the score. It would have remained that way at the half if not for a late Temple goal. With only 42 seconds remaining in the half, a flurry of shots around the Quaker goal ended up giving the Owls the lead at the half. Having to play for the tie, and not the win in the second half, was a big psychological problem with which Penn had to deal. "We put a lot of hard effort into the first half and for all that to go to waste with 42 seconds left, that brings you down a little bit," Morita said. "We give up a goal right before halftime and that kind of takes the air out of us," Baker said. "When we come here at home we've always had to fight to tie the game rather than go for the lead. One of the things we did at Lehigh (the Quakers only win) was we were going into the second half even, fighting for the win. That's what I was hoping for tonight. That was definitely a big momentum swing." In the second half, it was simply a case of Temple connecting on its opportunities and Penn -- except for a late goal by Quaker Female Athlete of the Week Heather Herson -- not being able to finish its drives to the net. Although both the Quakers and the Owls are in their fourth year of varsity women's soccer, Temple seems to have the edge on their crosstown counterpart. The Owls now lead the series 4-0 after last night's soccer version of "Fight Night." "What can you do when you have someone tugging on you all the time?" Morita asked. "If that is Temple's style of play, that's not what we're accustomed to. Coach told me to not let the officials or the Temple players get on me or bring me down, but that's exactly what it does. It brings you out of the game. I shouldn't let it happen, but it's just natural." · Scoring Summary: Temple Patrice Rutland, 4:06; Penn Nicole Caruso, 12:25 (assist Yuka Morita); Temple Katie Gallagher, 44:22 (assist Shauna James); Temple Rutland, 54:06 (assist Kim Steiner); Temple Kim Fitzgerald (70:32); Penn Heather Herson (85:45); Temple Gallagher, 86:59 (assist Steiner).