W. Soccer gives Lehigh a lesson

Fact: The 1994 Penn women's soccer team was not nearly as good as this year's squad. Fact: Last year's team beat Lehigh. Conclusion: The 1995 edition should defeat Lehigh by a lot. Yesterday at a wet Rhodes Field that conclusion was verified, as Penn trounced the Engineers 5-1. Whether it was ball-control, finishing in front of the goal or playing defense, the Quakers (3-3-1) executed their game plan and came away with a win in their last home game until Oct. 15. One could hardly have predicted the final score from the opening minutes. In the words of Penn coach Patrick Baker, the team looked "slow and sluggish." But in the 14th minute midfielder Wendy Bass received a pass from Becky Dalton and charged down the left side. At the corner of the 18 yard box, she cut back and lofted a perfect chip over Lehigh keeper Shauwea Hamilton. "It was a great shot," Baker said. This lead would be short-lived. Just six minutes later Lehigh leveled the score 1-1. Kathryn Chmelich outran the Quakers' defense and lifted the bouncing ball over goalkeeper Amelia Urban. For the fifth consecutive time, Penn had allowed an opening goal advantage to slip away. Three of those games ended in 2-1 Penn losses. "The trend changed today," Baker said. Just five minutes later Kelly Stevens put the Quakers ahead for good on a well-placed left-footed shot. Before the half, Yuka Morita capitalized on the porous Engineers defense. A scramble near the goal ended when she found the ball and placed it in the empty net. The 3-1 lead was Penn's largest halftime lead this season. The second half of the contest proved what some had doubted: Penn can play confidently with a lead. Six minutes after it began, Darah Ross sliced through Lehigh's embattled back line, cut past a final defender, and rolled a shot to the left of the helpless keeper. The final tally came two minutes before game's end. Tina Cooper, active all day up front, assisted on Morita's second score. The headed goal gave Morita three on the year, tying her with Ross for the team high. The goals were the highlights of a dull second half. Both sides reached deep into their benches, a situation that only emphasized Penn's advantage. "We only have 14 players we can go to without a drop-off in quality. They have 25," Lehigh coach Allison Moxey said. On a day when the offense shined, bettering its previous single-game high for goals by two, it might have been easy to overlook the defense. Penn clamped down on the Engineers after giving up the early goal. In the last hour of the match, there were no breakaways, few corner kicks and no need for diving saves. Lehigh's best player, senior Dia Johnson, never seriously threatened Urban, or her late game replacement, Stacey Gorman. "We knew we had a good chance of beating them after last year," senior sweeper Heather Herson said, summarizing the team's mood. The short college soccer season is approaching the midway point, and the team hopes this game signals its coming together. The decisive win makes for an ideal momentum-builder heading into Penn's upcoming road trip. The timing also coincides with the most productive period of the 1994 campaign, starting with the Lehigh match. "It was huge [to win at home]. This is where it all started last year," Baker said.