W. Soccer plays with confidence

With one win in eight games, how much could there be to smile about for the Penn women's soccer team? A lot. When Penn hosts Columbia 7:30 tonight at Franklin Field, the Quakers will walk in a confident bunch. And the sophomore players will sure to be strutting their stuff. Compared to their situation last year, these second-year players have every reason to be smiling. With no seniors and only four juniors on the team, the Quakers (1-7, 0-3 Ivy League) are anything but experienced entering tonight's game against the Lions (2-4-1, 0-1-1). First-year coach Patrick Baker is learning on the job about Ivy League soccer after leading North Carolina Wesleyan to the top 10 in the Division III polls. Freshman goalkeeper Perry Cohen has had her share of ups and downs, and has even been asked to play hurt, considering that Penn has no other keepers. This group of sophomores is still smiling. Last year as freshmen, these Quakers were thrown into a shaky program and asked to contribute immediately. This year, they notice a difference. "I think the improvement is from everyone," sophomore Anne Davies said. "Everyone is stepping up and contributing to get it all together. There is a camaraderie between us sophomores, but I think we have all gelled very well -- juniors, sophomores and freshman. Baker has noticed a marked improvement in four sophomores. Wendy Bass has come in at sweeper and done a fantastic job. Bass, who didn't play at all last year, has contributed significantly. "She has gone from rags to riches," Baker said. "When I came here, I could not believe that she didn't get any time last year. She has done a great job in the middle of the field." Nicole Caruso, a part-time starter last year, has come on strong of late. Scoring goals in both the win against Lehigh and loss to Temple, Caruso is one of the Quakers' prime offensive weapons. Baker believes her best game came in last weekend's 1-0 loss to Harvard. Heather Herson and Anne Davies have also earned praise for coming around in the middle of the field. Herson earned Penn's Female Athlete of the Week award two weeks ago for her first collegiate goal against Lehigh that preserved the win. She has had to make the biggest adjustment of anyone on the team moving from sweeper to attacking midfielder. "The sophomores do have a camaraderie from the standpoint that they were thrust out on the field last year as freshman," Baker said. "And they are really going to sink or swim. They are all back now as a sophomore class and they are all pretty close." This Quaker team has played far better than 1-7. There were several recruits at the Harvard game, and after seeing the way Penn played, they could not believe that it only had one win. And, if everything goes according to Baker's plan, it won't stay that way. In fact, the Quakers hope it will happen tonight.

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