W. Soccer plays last game at Rhodes

The Quakers will be looking for their first Ivy win when they face Yale. A lot is riding on tomorrow's Ivy League match against Yale for the Penn women's soccer team. Coming on the heels of Wednesday's 1-0 victory over No. 26 George Mason which capped a perfect non-league season, the Quakers (10-4-1, 0-4-1 Ivy League) are given a chance Saturday to exorcise their Ivy League demons and prove to their many critics that they can also earn a win in the Ancient Eight. A win over Yale (9-5-0, 2-3-0) could also continue any momentum built with Wednesday's victory, which Penn could definitely use going into its final regular-season match against Princeton and in games beyond. "It would be nice to move into the next season knowing that we've beaten two good teams in our last games," Penn coach Patrick Baker said. But most importantly for Baker, this match marks the final home game for the first players he recruited as Quakers coach -- seniors Lindsey Carson, Tina Cooper, Jacky Flood and Kelly Stevens. He especially wants this Senior Day to end the way that he thinks these players deserve -- with a victory at Rhodes Field. "They brought with them the first winning season in the program's history," Baker said. "They are four very special players, and should get to leave with a win." Perhaps luckily for Baker and his senior class, the Quakers will be meeting a Yale squad much like themselves tomorrow on their home field. According to Yale coach Rudy Meredith, his team has had problems putting the ball in the net despite having many quality scoring opportunities, scoring only seven goals against league opponents. Penn has netted the ball only four times in Ivy League games. "Our defense has been playing well, but that doesn't matter when you don't finish," Meredith said. Meredith also said that his team has had a tendency to play well in spurts, but hasn't been able to string together a full 90 minutes of good soccer. "We have the ability to beat almost any team on any day, but I don't know which team will show up -- the good Yale team or the bad Yale team," Meredith said. Although Baker said that he feels his team hasn't had a bad performance at all this season, he attributes at least part of the Quakers' winless Ivy League record to small lapses that have added up to big losses. "Our problems have been situations where one or two little things here and there have been our demise," Baker said. Both teams don't just share some similar woes, though, but also some similar strengths. Meredith said that his defense will be keying in on Penn's scoring duo of Jill and Andrea Callaghan, but he knows that "if you just focus on the Callaghan twins, [Penn] has other players who can beat you." Likewise, Yale touts its own scoring twosome in midfielder Annie Kwon and forward Jill Rubinstein. The two have combined for three of Yale's seven Ivy League goals, but the Elis also possess scoring threats all over the field. After comparing the strengths and weaknesses of both teams, Meredith said he thinks tomorrow's game will be one of the most equally matched games in the entire Ivy League season. "We'll probably end up tying," Meredith said with a chuckle. But Baker knows that another Ivy League tie is not what the Quakers need right now, with only one chance for a league win remaining after tomorrow's match. "We need to apply the lessons we've learned against Brown and George Mason against Yale and get that first 'W' in the league," Baker said. Meredith said that if any team gets a 'W' tomorrow, it will definitely be well-earned. "If his best team and our best team show up, it's going to be a one-goal game," he said. "Whichever team finishes its chances is the one that's going to win."