W. Soccer charging at Dartmouth

Dartmouth College will only charge admission to three women's soccer games this year. One was against New England rival Boston University, one will be against reigning Ivy champ Harvard and the other will be tomorrow's match with the visiting team from Penn. The Quakers feel that much of their success over the past couple of years has been overlooked by many, especially the haughty Harvard Crimson. The Big Green, on the other hand, realize that they're up against a talented and battle-tested adversary in tomorrow's noontime matchup. And although the fact that it will cost $4 for a non-Dartmouth student to attend the contest may just be a product of coincidental scheduling -- the school often charges for weekend men's/women's doubleheaders -- the Red and Blue will be the biggest show in town. That's because the Big Green's football team will be at Franklin Field come tomorrow. The eight-hour journey to Hanover, N.H., marks the farthest the Quakers will stray from Philadelphia this season, but the team is quickly gaining confidence on the road. Penn routed Stony Brook, 3-0, on Long Island last Wednesday before celebrating its first Ivy League victory of the fall when the Quakers held off Cornell, 2-1, in cold, soggy Ithaca, N.Y. "We needed the wins," Penn coach Darren Ambrose said. "We have played well overall, and it's nice to be rewarded when you play well with wins." It's especially nice on the road. As perennial powerhouse Harvard demonstrated last week with a loss to Brown, winning on the road is an acquired art that is difficult to master. However, it is an art that the Quakers, winners in two of their three away matches this season, are showing signs of perfecting. When Penn (4-2, 1-1 Ivy League) squares off with Dartmouth (3-2, 0-1) tomorrow, it will represent the Quakers' third consecutive game away from Rhodes Field. After the Big Green, the Quakers still have two more games on the road before they get to play on the friendly sod of Rhodes again. "It proves to other people that they should be worried when we come in," Penn junior forward Sabrina Fenton said of her team's prowess on the road. Two vastly disparate styles of play will clash at Chase Field. Dartmouth favors a 4-3-3 alignment, the likes of which Penn has not faced this season. This different look doesn't present tremendous concern to Ambrose, though, since the Big Green's strategy caters to the Quakers' greatest strength, their midfield. Even so, the Red and Blue prepared during practice this week for the system they will oppose. "We're adapting our style a little bit so we can counter the way that they play," Fenton said. "I feel good on paper with how we match up," Ambrose said. Dartmouth has had an up-and-down first month under new coach Erica Walsh. It has been a month that has seen a 9-1 shellacking of Central Connecticut, yet also a 1-0 loss to Princeton in the Big Green's last game, a week ago tomorrow. Both teams should be energized as they have each had a full week off, but Penn thinks it might be the more cohesive club entering the game. "I think that we're definitely coming together as a unit," Fenton said. "The more we win, the more confidence we have."

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