After fighting through the past week without a loss for the first time this season, the Penn women's soccer team (3-6-2) will travel to Lehigh (3-10) this afternoon with the hope of continuing its streak. Last year, the Quakers stole the show by scoring four goals in the second half of the game to earn a 5-1 victory over the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh has had a rough year, especially in the Patriot League, in which the Mountain Hawks are winless in five games. After losing its top player, forward Dia Johnson, who graduated, Lehigh has relied heavily on sophomore forward Kathryn Chrnelich, who leads the team with 10 points. Penn's recent string of success began on the October 12, when the Quakers defeated Ivy League foe Columbia, 3-2, in overtime and followed with a 1-1 tie against Villanova four days later. The Quakers' anticipated matchup against Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y., last Friday was canceled and probably will not be rescheduled until mid-November. After the two overtime games, the rested Quakers expect to be ready for Lehigh. Penn's starting lineup will be healthy for the first time this year. In the past four games, the Quakers defense has slowly but surely tightened up -- going from allowing five goals to three to two and finally giving up only one goal in their last game. The increasing consistent play of defenders Heather Herson, Dean Kocivar-Norbury, Jill Brown and Jacky Flood has given the team a solid foundation for the team to improve on. Penn coach Patrick Baker's "bend-but-don't-break" defense hopes to shut down the Mountain Hawks just like it did last year. "We are playing some of our best soccer down the stretch," Baker said. "I think that is what is important. We are able to gel and play well towards the end of the season." Penn has also increased its offensive output, but still has not reached its full potential. Even though the Quakers clearly dominated American, Columbia and Villanova in total number of shots, the results have not been as convincing -- 1-1-1 record in that span. Baker used the end of yesterday's practice to concentrate on putting the ball away to where it should go -- the back of the net. "It is frustrating that we are not finishing," Quakers forward Kelly Stevens said. "We have obviously had the opportunities, but I think it is just concentration and confidence that we need to use to finish." With the goal of improving on last year's team record of 8-6-2, the Quakers, led by six seniors, are feeling the urgency to win now. "We are ready to go," Herson said. "If we can beat Lehigh [today], the rest of the season will be in an upward movement."
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