M. Soccer gets a fresh start as Ivy play begins

As the Penn men's soccer team prepared to meet Cornell yesterday, calls of "relax!" carried across the practice field. The Quakers (0-2) feel their skills are up to the challenge of the Ivy League. Their nerves, however, are another story. "We're trying to get everyone to calm down with the ball," forward Steve Cohen said. "We need to not be nervous and to look for the open man and the simple pass." This may be a difficult task for the Quakers, who have had trouble with on-field communication. "We've started off with adversity," Penn coach George O'Neill said. "We'll see the character of our team against Cornell. They were tested physically and mentally [in the first two games], and I'm sure they'll rebound." Losing builds character. Winning builds confidence. After defeats at the hands of Philadelphia Textile and Seton Hall, the Quakers have plenty of the former. The latter, however, is practically nonexistent. "We're getting down on ourselves," midfielder Jared Boggs said. "We have to forget about what's past and just go on. We need motivation." The move to Ivy play may provide the boost the Quakers need. For Penn, this game is a new start. "There are two divisions here," Cohen said. "There's everything else and there's the Ivy League. We're 0-2 in everything else, but we're undefeated in the Ivy League. We have to take advantage of that." Seton Hall took advantage of six Penn freshmen in Wednesday's 9-3 loss. The Quakers' three goals, scored in the second half after Penn was already down by six, have become a rallying point. "They refused to quit," O'Neill said. "Your pride's hurt when there's a big score like that, not just as a team but individually, and they hung in there. They kept fighting right to the end." Penn's competitive spirit and desire to drive upfield cost it two more goals. Against the Pirates the free man managed to escape downfield, taxing the skills of goalkeepers Andrew Kralik and Brian Freckman. The Quakers will have to stick to their defensive assignments tomorrow. Forwards Adamo Notarantonio and Eric Kusseluk, the Big Red's scoring leaders last year, will be watched particularly closely. Kusseluk has already taken eight shots and scored two goals in two games. The Quakers have had numerous scoring chances in their two losses, outshooting both Textile and Seton Hall. Converting the shots into goals will be the difficult task, particularly against Quinn O'Sullivan, who has a formidable career goals-against-average of 1.85. The Quakers are determined to correct their mistakes tomorrow. Practice has consisted of hours of passing drills and lessons in the Penn offensive and defensive systems. "Defense is the key," Boggs said. "If we can get our defenders to come together and shut out the opponent, we can guarantee a win. I'm sure our offense can produce goals." Cohen appears to be the high-scoring forward Penn sorely needs. Together the Quakers' freshmen add quality depth and youthful enthusiasm to the Penn roster, which is headed by 10 seniors. Despite the squad's depressing history, the Ivy championship does not seem out of reach. "Now it's all about earning respect," Cohen said. "The jitters have gone away, and if we're patient, the goals will come."

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