Cavalier attitude

Midfielder Read Goodwin, aMidfielder Read Goodwin, atransfer from Virginia, hopes toMidfielder Read Goodwin, atransfer from Virginia, hopes tolead Penn to the same heightsMidfielder Read Goodwin, atransfer from Virginia, hopes tolead Penn to the same heightshe eperienced at his last stop In senior Read Goodwin's youth, his football playing cousins used to tease him about playing a sport for wimps. His family hoped he could be transformed into a wide receiver, but neither his family nor a frustrating freshman year kept Goodwin from donning his soccer shorts each and every fall. Goodwin's collegiate playing career began at Virginia, where he was a substiture for the national champion Cavaliers. But Goodwin decided to transfer to Penn his sophomore year. "I just felt that since Virginia was the national champs that they had the best incoming freshmen, and I just wouldn't have much playing time," Goodwin said. Since Goodwin became a Quaker, he has started in every game as a midfielder, and, as this year's co-captain, he hopes to lead Penn to a winning record. With a large number of freshmen on the team this season and a new passing and control-oriented offense, Goodwin's experience will be crucial. "Read brings a great measure of consistency to the team," Penn coach George O'Neill said. "He has excellent sweeping and distribution skills." Goodwin says he tries to concentrate more on the defensive aspects of soccer, although this year he feels that he may have a more offensive role on the team. "Usually, I try to control the middle of the field," he said. "My main job is to pass the ball around and try to advance it up the field." Goodwin's most memorable game came in his sophomore year, when the Quakers beat then top-10 ranked Columbia. "Columbia came in kind of underestimating us," Goodwin said. "They drove in the morning of the game, which most teams don't usually do, and somehow we beat them 3-2. It was crazy." Last year, Goodwin felt the team was very competitive in the Ivy League, which is considered the second-best conference in the nation, next to the Atlantic Coast Conference, which Virginia belongs to. "A lot of games last year, we were real close," Goodwin said. "We just always seemed to come out on the losing end." At a game at Brown last year, a rainstorm turned the field to mud. Penn had two open shots on goal after the goalkeeper had fallen down, but both of the Quakers' shots on the open net got stuck in the mud. "The field was so muddy that you couldn't run 10 feet without falling down," Goodwin said. "We ended up losing that game, 2-0, but it was a real close game." Goodwin has had good like avoiding injury on the soccer field. However, he seriously injured himself once while playing basketball. He managed to tear nearly every ligament in his right ankle, which left him in a cast for six weeks. "Since I hurt my ankle so bad that one time, it's been so weak that I sprain it pretty easily," Goodwin said. After a 5-11-1 season in 1995 and a 6-8-1 record his sophomore year, Read is optimistic about the coming campaign. "The week before practice started, the players on the team went down to Ocean City [N.J.] to practice," Goodwin said. "I think practicing down there and hanging out all the time together really helped our team." With Penn's season opener against Philadelphia Textile just three days away, the Quakers will discover how well the bonding experience worked. "I'm really looking forward to it," Goodwin said, "but Textile has already played four games this season, so they have an advantage. But if we come out hard, I think we'll win."