Owls look to beat Penn for fifth time

"This is a huge game," Penn women's soccer coach Patrick Baker said. The game Baker is referring to is this afternoon's Penn-Temple matchup. The Quakers (1-4-1) are looking to awaken their sleeping season of distraught while the Owls (3-6), who are coming in fresh off back-to-back wins over St. Bonaventure and St. Joseph's. In the two schools previous four meetings, Temple has won every game. "They are playing with confidence. They are 4-0 and probably saying that since [Penn] has not beaten us in the regular season, let's not let it happen this year," Baker said. "I am sure that they are going to be ready for us. This is probably going to be one of the more physical teams that we are going to play." Temple is led by senior forward Kim Fitzgerald, who became the Owls' all-time leading scorer with 29 career goals this past Saturday after recording a hat trick in a 4-2 win over St. Bonaventure. Her current season total is five goals, which includes three game-winning scores. Fitzgerald scored one goal the last time the two teams played in 1994, which resulted in a 5-2 Temple victory. "We played them in the spring and beat them at their place, 3-1, without Darah Ross or Jill Brown," Baker said. "So I feel good about it." For the Quakers, looking at a 1-4-1 record is not very appealing. "It's frustrating, because we are a lot better than what our record indicates," Ross said. "Hopefully, we will be able to turn things around tomorrow." It is the point in the season when Baker is going to have to make some calls. "We are in a catch-22," Baker said. "Do you stay with the old guard because you know what they can do -- they just have not hit all cylinders yet? Or do you try to shake things up and get a fresh new start? "I would take anybody right now! We need all 11 players to be on the same page on the field at one time. Some players like Ross, Kelly Stevens, Yuka Morita, the Callaghans and Jen Scott, are going to have to be the players that are going to have to find the net for us." The twin high school All-Americans -- Andrea and Jill Callaghan -- are finally healthy after recovering from a muscle enzyme deficiency that left them in the hospital. "They are going to play," Baker said. "There have been other players training and working hard all year long. At what point in time do you insert two players that have been working their way back, but are not all the way there yet? But yeah, they are going to get some time." "Everyone is really excited now that the Callaghans can play again," Ross said. "I think that they will be able to help us a lot and make an impact right away." Baker praises the seniors for continuing to fight despite the team's losing record. "I compliment our group a lot," Baker said. "A lot of people look at our 1-4-1 record. We could be pointing fingers, but we're not. I give our seniors a lot of credit because they show by example. Our seniors have been very open about the coaching saying, 'Coach, we just want to win.' "It has to be one of the most upbeat 1-4-1 teams. It is nothing that a win can't cure, and I hope we get that tomorrow."

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