W. Soccer tries to earn four-game sweep at home

Today's matchup versus LaSalle is the final tune-up before the Quakers take to the road to face nationally ranked opponents. The unprecedented start by the Penn women's soccer team means that the bar keeps getting raised for each upcoming game, even for non-Ivy League opponents. "The La Salle game is the biggest game because how we play and dictate things there will be what we remember going into Friday's game against nationally ranked Duke," Penn coach Patrick Baker said. The all-Philly matchup between the Quakers and La Salle (4-1) at Rhodes Field has many ramifications. Penn has a chance to sweep its current four-game homestand. The Quakers (5-1) also can surpass last year's win total and potentially earn their fifth shutout. Numbers aside, the momentum that has built over the last two weeks is hanging in the balance. Looking ahead, Penn will be on the road next weekend to face two possible national championship contenders in Duke and North Carolina. In the more distant future, the Quakers will journey to Cambridge, Mass., to take on defending Ivy League champion Harvard. Two weeks after that, Penn faces co-Ivy leader Yale to possibly decide the conference title. With its only loss coming to then-No. 10 Maryland, Penn has shown a complete reversal of fortune in 1997. "They made a commitment last year that we were not going to go through the season that we had last year," Baker said. "We've gotten great leadership this year, and it all gets back to commitment." The fruits of their labor include the highest goal total of any Ivy League team. Seven players have seen their name on the scoresheet, and over half of the Quakers' roster has either had a goal or an assist. Depth may come into play again, as La Salle has received the bulk of their its from three midfielders: Jenni Myers, Michelle Shegda and Dana Gavaghan. Also, during each game of the current homestand Penn has used four more players than their opposition through substitutions. Penn's recent opponents have fatigued through the higher use of their starters, not having the luxury of relying on the rest of their rosters to come in cold and perform well. Add the large emphasis on the Quakers' preseason conditioning, and the result has been Penn changing the course of games in the second half. Of course, when it comes to opponents who come to your field by yellow school bus, all the numbers can go out the window. "They'll be tough, because anytime you play one of these city schools, they're up for you," Baker said. "Everybody wants to be known as the best in Philadelphia, and I know we are not going to sneak up on them this year because everybody knows our score against Temple (8-0)." Being the hunted instead of the hunter is the role Penn will need to handle well to keep its four-game winning streak alive.