Baker's recipe a success in building W. Soccer

In each of its recent coaching searches, the Penn Athletic Department has stressed the importance of player recruiting in building a strong athletic program. Meet Penn's best exhibit of recruiting success -- Patrick Baker. After only four seasons at Penn, women's soccer coach Patrick Baker has put his team into the national spotlight because his ability to land heralded recruiting prospects has played a key role in the Quakers' ability to earn success. This year is no different as Baker got his most coveted players to commit to Penn. Coming from Division III North Carolina Wesleyan, Baker has found recruiting for an Ivy League team a double-edged sword. "Not being able to give athletic scholarships is always a concern," Baker said. "Every year we face it. We are not going to get everybody. We know that. But if we can get some of the quality ones that we are continually after, I think we will be okay." Many of Baker's contacts have not come through his Penn links but through his coaching positions for Olympic Development Program teams and junior state teams. Baker started coaching Olympic development players in North Carolina and has moved quickly through the ranks. This past summer Baker received a promotion as the director of Region III (South) for the Olympic Development Program. After Penn's successful '97 campaign, Baker found an overwhelming interest in the Quakers' program. Eighteen out of 20 official visits planned for this year so far are from Baker's ODP affiliation. "I would say in next year's recruiting class we will hopefully see some fruits of that," Baker said. "Now people have gotten to know me after a year. It is amazing what just being regionally ranked will do for you." Baker made one of his first dynamite finds the summer following his first year as head coach for the Quakers. Spending some of the summer running a soccer camp at the College of New Jersey, Baker ran into Jill and Andrea Callaghan. The twins, who had earned All-American recognition in high school, came to Penn and have since become cornerstones for the women's soccer program. Last season the two combined for 17 goals and five assists, earning their respective All-Ivy honors. "The main reason we came to Penn was because of coach Baker," Jill Callaghan said. "He was really enjoyable to be around. While he made you work hard, he would always be the first to say something nice." From his years coaching at the Eastern Pennsylvania Under 17 State ODP, Baker was able to approach sophomore Kellianne Toland and steal her away from Harvard. Toland earned First Team All-Ivy honors as a freshman. "There, again, it was just making great inroads," Baker said. "It was just a friendship, a relationship with Kelly that gave us the connection. We called her faithfully from start to finish." This season the Quakers boast one of their smallest recruiting classes in school history. Graduating only one player, Darah Ross, Baker did not feel the necessity to bring in a large class. "We were really trying to be more selective than any other year," Baker said. "If we had more than 10 freshman, there would have been a lot of unhappy campers not able to play the game of soccer." The freshmen trio consists of midfielders Sarah Campbell and Sabrina Fenton and sweeper Johanna Wise. While they find it awkward to have such a small class, Campbell, Fenton and Wise feel it has allowed them to become such a close-knit group. "We have definitely made a connection," Campbell said. "The three of us hang out all of the time. It is weird that there are only three of us. When we came on a recruiting trip there were 11 or 12 other players. I think our class being so small makes us unique." The trio have also given the team a surprising lift and shown that quality is better than quantity. After an impressive weekend in Delaware, Campbell has earned a starting position. "I was pleasantly surprised," Baker said. "I thought we were really solid and that we were really good in the central midfield. For someone like Sara to come in and make a contribution like she has and to be starting for us, says a lot about her as a player." Fenton and Wise have already caught the attention of their teammates. Gaining experience as the season progresses, the duo should see increasing playing time. "They have all been a positive influence on the team," Jill Callaghan said. "As they start playing more, all three of them will start learning about our tendencies."