COLUMN: Penn's finest play at Rhodes

Miles Cohen, Commentary The team everyone has been overlooking in West Philly is playing on Rhodes Field, not Franklin Field. They do not wear helmets or knock their opponents into next week. They do not have new flashy uniforms. The only snazzy equipment the Red and Blue employ is a black and white ball for the purposes of kicking. Most importantly the women's soccer team has won five straight games for the first time in two years and is currently the hottest team at Penn. "I will say it again, last year was the longest season I have ever coached," Quakers coach Patrick Baker said. Riddled with injuries, illnesses, an inconsistent effort on the field and not to mention controversy off it, Penn took several steps backwards from its accomplishments the previous season. Only one year earlier the Quakers had rewritten the record books with their first season above the .500 plateau. That record (8-6-2) plus exciting play in 1995 led to high expectations for fall 1996. It was at this moment when the Quakers train derailed and nearly crashed and burned. "Everything that could go wrong in '96 happened," Baker said, "from the very beginning of the year, when we came in assuming we would beat every team we had beaten the previous season." Key injuries to two of Penn's top recruits, goalkeepers Anne Kluetmeier and Lauren Dickie, followed by a drinking scandal that involved freshmen players, and some bizarre illnesses only seemed to distract the Quakers further from their job on the field. Determined to set the record straight in 1997, Penn started training early last spring, and so far it would appear their determination has paid off in a big way. One tiny example: last year's leading scorer was Darah Ross with five goals. This season, with 11 games remaining, Penn top-gun Andrea Callaghan has four. In addition to Callaghan and Ross, goalkeeper Kluetmeier has allowed only three goals in six games while making 24 saves. Coming off of season-ending elbow surgery, the super sophomore has four shutouts to boast about. Kluetmeier, Callaghan and co-captain Ross all experienced last season's nightmare and, according to Baker, have been able to overcome their bad dreams through "a ton of hard work." But Baker is quick to point out the two underclassmen and grizzled veteran are not the only members of the team who have revamped their attitudes for the 1997 schedule. "It has been a total team effort" Baker said. "Starting this past spring, we set out to prove we were much better than our record indicated last season. And the best part about this year so far, is that in my opinion we are continually working hard and I don't believe we have played our best soccer yet." This had best be the case with the Quakers set to travel south this weekend to take on Duke and North Carolina, two teams nationally ranked in the top 10. Whatever the outcome is of those two grueling matches, Penn has already made a loud, brash statement of the rest of the Ivy League: Watch out Harvard, the perennial Ivy favorite, because the Red and Blue -- for the first time ever -- has shut down Dartmouth (2-1) and Cornell (2-0), and seems to be playing with more confidence every time the Penn takes the field. To recap, for those waiting for the football team to awaken from its never-ending funk, head down to Rhodes Field and catch a glimpse of the best Penn athletics has to offer this fall.