W. Soccer searching for first league win

The Penn women's soccer team seems to be following a trend in '98 -- winning the non-conference games handily, but coming up just short in the crucial Ivy matchups. The Quakers (9-3-1, 0-3-1 Ivy League) will try to change that this Sunday as they head to Brown's (6-6-1, 0-3-1) Stevenson Field seeking their first Ivy win in five tries. A point in the Quakers' favor going into Brown is that they are fresh off an impressive 3-1 downing of Bucknell (6-10) on Tuesday. This game saw almost complete domination by the home team, as the Quakers ran their non-conference winning streak to nine. Going into Tuesday, the Quakers were on the rebound after a tough 2-1 loss to Columbia over Fall Break. But determined not to let their slide continue to two against the Bison, the Quakers responded with a big 'W.' Paced by seven shots by midfielder Kellianne Toland, a total of 11 Quakers pestered Bison keeper Dana Rotey with an inordinate 33 shots in the win. Toland, a sophomore, notched the first goal of the game for the Quakers 18 minutes in, and senior striker Kelly Stevens netted her seventh of the year 10 minutes later to make it 2-0. Five minutes into the second half the vaunted Callaghan duo finally got into the scoring act as Quakers junior striker Andrea Callaghan fed her twin sister -- junior striker Jill Callaghan -- for the team's third goal. Jill, with an assist on Stevens' goal as well, upped her Ivy League-leading point total to 20 on the year. Though the Quakers did control the ball for almost the entire game, a late unassisted goal by Bison striker Suzanne Hartig was able to break up Quakers goalkeeper Anne Kluetmeier's shutout bid. Nonetheless, the Red and Blue can still take solace in knowing that they thoroughly dominated this game. The Bison were allowed just four shots and one corner kick on the day by a stingy Quakers defense -- and Kluetmeier needed to save only three Bucknell shots. This Sunday, the Quakers will need this type of dominating play as they head north to Providence, R.I., trying to break out of a year-long Ivy jinx. If statistics could win the games, then the Quakers would surely come out on top. Kluetmeier has eight shutouts on the year for Penn, while Bears junior keeper Elise Roy has a goals-against-average of 1.68. The Quakers lead the Ivy League in scoring, and have a plus-26 goal differential, while the Bears have been outscored 24 to 20 on the year. Unfortunately for the Quakers, the game must be played on the field -- a field where the unexpected can, and frequently does, occur. Despite a 6-1 Ivy loss to Dartmouth and a pair of non-league three-goal losses, the Bears still enter Sunday's match with the exact same record as the Quakers in the Ivies. The Bears are fresh off of a 3-1 win of their own this week -- over cross-town rival Providence on Wednesday. Last year's matchup saw the Quakers shut out the Bears 2-0 on Rhodes Field, with sophomore midfielder Emily Goodman notching a goal for the Quakers. But this year could present a very different matchup, as the Quakers don't seem to have any luck in their Ivy meetings. The combination of freshman Allyson Schwerdt and senior Kira Kania-Lloyd -- who has netted 11 goals and six assists in '98 -- has proved the Bears can threaten up front, and on their home field, anything can happen. If the Quakers can take the boost from their 3-1 win on Tuesday and turn it into a positive showing Sunday, then perhaps the bus ride home from this Ivy match won't be as long and painful as the last few have been. Women's soccer coach Patrick Baker, who handles all inquiries for the Quakers, could not be reached for comment last night.

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