W. Soccer to host Engineers

This past Friday night, the five seniors on the Penn women's soccer team sat around their house and created a song for their team -- something that they have done together for the past four years. "It was really symbolic," senior co-captain Kelli Toland said. "It was where we started and where we ended. Our class has come really far together -- that day was really special for us." Coming far might be an understatement. Toland, along with fellow co-captain Ashley Kjar, Angela Konstantaras, Shannon Porter and Aidan Viggiano make up a senior class that has epitomized camaraderie. "We definitely have a really close class," Viggiano said. "We all live together and are best friends." These five women have also helped to carry the Quakers to new heights and resurrect a decade-old women's soccer program. Dealing with the tough situation of playing under three different head coaches, the seniors have helped to steadily improve their team, nearly missing the program's first-ever Ivy League title last year while reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Injuries in part, however, have prevented the Quakers from repeating last season's success. With Toland suffering from a stress reaction in her right ankle, the Red and Blue have stumbled to a 7-7-1 overall record, going 2-4 in the Ivy League. Toland, a two-time first team All-Ivy selection, has watched her team skid to the finish line, dropping four straight, the last being senior day and Penn's final league game at Rhodes. "It was really tough for me, but it was counterbalanced by the fact that it was such a great day," Toland said. "All of the seniors' parents were there and we had a lot of fun." Toland will look to be on the field today at 2:30 p.m. when the Quakers square off against Lehigh in their final game at Rhodes, but whether she plays or not will be a game-time decision. Being the last home game for the seniors, Toland and company will do their best to go out with a bang. "We want to look back and say, 'At least we stepped it up for the end,'" Toland said. "For us five seniors, we don't want to have to say that we lost our last game at Rhodes." The seniors, however, have a tough time comprehending the fact that after today's game, they will never again play for Penn on their home turf. "It's hard to picture," Toland said. "It doesn't seem real yet. I don't think it will hit us until next spring." Lehigh will look to play the role of spoiler today and make its visit to West Philly a pleasant one. Sporting a record similar to that of the Quakers, the Engineers (8-7-1) had their postseason hopes thwarted by a 0-0 tie with Navy on Saturday. Lehigh's final game will come today at Rhodes Field, and the Engineers can smell Quaker blood. "We have to get our kids to refocus for our last game against Penn," Engineers coach Julie Leonhardt told Lehigh Sports Information. "We want to send our seniors out with a win." For the Red and Blue, postseason hopes may also have washed away, but there is still plenty to play for. "The Ivy League title is obviously our ultimate goal, but once that's gone, we really just play for each other," Viggiano said. "We wouldn't be out there if we didn't love each other and the sport that we're playing."

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