W. Soccer surprises the Patriots

Penn coach Patrick Baker called the 1-0 win over Groege Mason the biggest in the school's history. Before the women's soccer team took the field at George Mason yesterday, Penn coach Patrick Baker used the retelling of an allegory to motivate his team. Baker encouraged his team to act like the wolf, which while stalking its prey goes miles without blinking. The point was for the Quakers to play the entire 90 minutes without losing their focus. Whether the story had anything to do with it or not, Penn was able to play its entire game without blinking, coming away with a 1-0 road victory over the Patriots. The win over the No. 26 Patriots (11-6-1), who are also ranked fifth in the Mid-Atlantic region, was the Quakers' (10-4-1) first win this season over a nationally ranked opponent and was a major step forward on the national scene for the Quakers. "This was probably our biggest win ever in the program's history," Baker said. "[George Mason] is a nationally ranked team, and it's great for us to beat them, and to beat someone ahead of us regionally." Going in, the Quakers, ranked eight in the Mid-Atlantic region, expected to be challenged thoroughly by the Patriots, who were a perfect 6-0 in George Mason Stadium on the year. The fact that this was George Mason's 'Senior Day,' and that Patriots All-American goalkeeper Jaime Pagliarulo was named to the Soccer America Team of the Week last Sunday did not lend hope to the Quakers either. Statistically, the Patriots did not disappoint, coming out and dominating the first 45 minutes of play. The home team outshot the Quakers six to three and amassed an astounding nine corner kicks in the first frame --Eeight more than the Quakers took on the day. But junior goalkeeper Anne Kluetmeier and the Quakers defense came up big, stuffing the Patriots on every single one of their first half chances. At the half, Baker again spoke of the wolf, reminding his Quakers of the need to string together a full game of play without a breakdown. Following the lead of their coach and his emotionally charged speech, the Quakers responded after the break. With tighter play, Penn limited the Patriots offense play while breaking out with some of its own. Quakers senior defender Kelly Stevens completed the upset, stunning the Patriots squad in the 76th minute for her seventh goal on the year -- the only one the Quakers would need on the day. "We won the ball inside our defensive half, and [freshman midfielder] Sabrina [Fenton] made a great run down the left side," Baker said. "When she was running at the defender, the ball got loose and she was able to turn and pass to Stevens who was open to score. "People have been scrutinizing their team, especially their defense, but [George Mason] had an All-American in goal and she made four phenomenal saves. We actually had some better chances in the first half that she saved." Stevens led the Quakers with four shots in the match, while junior striker Andrea Callaghan contributed a couple more which were not recorded as official shots, leading Baker to doubt the accuracy of the final shot count which favored George Mason 13-6. The Patriots were able to mount a late-game surge in a valiant attempt to redeem their Senior Day. But Kluetmeier was able to turn aside shots from Patriots defenders Paige Henry and Lisa Berra in the last five minutes to preserve her ninth shutout in '98. "We saw this as the the first day for the rest of our program, and the girls stepped it up and did a phenomenal job," Baker said. With this win in their last non-conference game of the season, the Quakers upped their non-Ivy mark to a spotless 10-0-0 in '98. More importantly, though, the Quakers demonstrated that it can be Baker's 'wolf' -- the unblinking predator that they need to be as they head into their final two games. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Kate Goldhaber contributed to this article.

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