Stauffer, Harvard will be a tough matchup for W. Soccer

The Quakers have never beaten the No. 17 Crimson, who carry a 16-game conference winning streak into Sunday's match As the Penn women's soccer roller-coaster season continues, it finds itself hurdling one obstacle after another. After escaping with a 1-0 win over Temple Wednesday, the Quakers find one of their biggest roadblocks still in the way -- Harvard. The heated battle will take place at Penn's Rhodes Field at noon on Sunday. Not only are the Crimson (5-0, 2-0 Ivy League) the reigning Ivy League champs, the boasters of a 16-game conference unbeaten streak dating back to the beginning of the 1994 season and the holder of a 5-0 record this season, but they handed the Quakers one of their worst defeats last year in Cambridge, Mass., by a final score of 6-2. The victory added to the perfect 5-0 series record held by the Crimson against Penn. "I actually was going to get tossed out of the game, because the officiating was a little sketchy that day," Penn coach Patrick Baker said. "My assistant was recruiting, so there would have been no one to coach the team. I kind of had to keep tight-lipped the rest of the game." Harvard, currently ranked No. 17 in the coaches' poll, is led by of four preseason all-conference players, '95 Ivy League Player of the Year Emily Stauffer, '95 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Naomi Miller, sophomore defender Jaime Chu and junior midfielder Karen Gudeman. Stauffer led the league last year with 13 goals and 35 points and has already recorded six goals and three assists this year. "Player for player, I will make no qualms about it, they are better individually on paper than we are," Baker said. "Emily Stauffer in my opinion is the best player in the league. Gudeman had a good game against us last year. Naomi Miller broke our hearts two years ago as she choose Harvard over Penn." The Quakers are especially hoping to put on a good show this weekend, because they will also be playing host to six of the top 25 recruits in the country. "Honestly, Harvard's records don't mean anything," Penn senior forward Yuka Morita said. "On any given day, any team can win. It just depends on playing strong as a team." The Quakers have switched to a 4-4-2 defensive formation to counteract Harvard's offensive power. "It's a matter of getting our heads into the game and wanting to win it," Morita said. "It is possible. Our team is capable of doing anything. It just depends on how we are focussed on that day. To beat them would be sweet justice."

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