W. Soccer opens its season with two losses at Tribe Invitational

Patrick Baker and his ever improving Quakers got a reality check this weekend as they suffered their worst loss in two years, falling 8-1 to No.13 Willaim and Mary in the Tribe Invitational at Williamsburg, Va. The last time the Quakers lost by such a margin was on the sodden mess of Chase Field, losing 8-0 to another nationally ranked team in Dartmouth. This time, however, they couldn't have gotten off to a better start. The ring from the opening whistle had hardly subsided in the crowd's ears when Kelly Stevens streaked through the penalty box from the left and struck a low, elusive shot underneath Tribe keeper Karen Wake. After less than one minute, the jubilant Quakers held a 1-0 advantage and gave Patrick Baker the dream start he had hoped for. "The longer we can keep it competitive," Baker said, "and keep it 0-0 or maybe even go up one in the game early? That's going to be our confidence factor. To know that, 'Hey, we're in this game and anything can happen.'" Unfortunately, the Quakers didn't stay in the game for long. Falling back on old habits from last year, the Quakers went immediately on the defensive and paid for it. On a throw-in deep in the Quaker half, Tribe forward Lindsey Nohl spotted strike partner Mary Totman unmarked in the penalty box, scoring their fist shot on goal in the 9th minute. With the momentum back in their favor, the initially stunned Tribe owned the rest of the match. Encamped in the Quakers half, they began a rain dance of sorts, controlling possesion with aggressive play until the inspired Nohl could once again get into the thick of things, scoring on a well timed through pass into the penalty area. Quakers nemesis Nohl, a freshman, led the Tribe tear in the first half, scoring two goals and two assists in the first 30 minutes. The weather may have been 80 degrees with clear skies, but the Tribe made certain it was pouring on the Quakers. By the end of the first half, the score was 6-1. The second half, though not as goal-rich, became the Missy Wycinsky show, as the freshman sensation fired at will through a porous Penn defense, scoring in the 66th and 76th minutes. Perhaps the only highlights for the Quakers came with their increased aggressiveness and Jacky Flood's lone shot on goal from just inside the penalty area, making it the Quaker's 2nd shot on goal all game. For the second half of the draw against Old Dominion on Sunday, the Quakers came out fighting mad. The match pitted Patrick Baker against former rival, colleage and friend coach Joe Pereira in a battle of strategy and wits, reminiscent of last year's struggle on Rhodes Field, which the Quakers won on last minute heroics by Kelly Stevens. The two teams fought evenly in the first half, although neither team could put the ball in the net. The second half opened up the match as a few minutes of confusion put the Lady Monarchs up 2-0 through goals from Carr and Gillespie in the 54th and 56th minutes. Penn fought back, as Stevens put through Darah Ross into the penalty box. On the half-volley, Ross struck a venomous shot into the left corner from close range in the 65th minute, as the Quakers kept it close. Quaker hopes began to fade when O.D.U. midfielder Michele Kubicek found herself all alone in the goal box and tapped in at close range past poor freshman Amy Jodoin in the 75th minute. Jodoin, in her first two colligiate starts at the Tribe Invitational, is already awfully tired of seeing the ball rolling over her goal line, conceeding 11 goals. The frantic Quakers pushed the ball forward until an O.D.U. defender committed a rash challenge inside the penalty box, setting up Jacky Flood to smash the penalty kick into the upper right hand corner. The final minutes were of a tired but torrid pace, until the referee ended the affair with the Lady Monarchs winning 3-2. A much more competitive match, the Quakers were also far more aggressive, committing 11 fouls, and Co-Captian Heather Herson earning a yellow card for her trouble.