W. Soccer supports Penn decision

In accordance with a University-wide cancellation of all athletic events through Sunday, the Penn women's soccer team will not be playing its scheduled games against Lehigh today and Temple on Sunday.

The Quakers will instead join in reflecting on the tragic happenings in New York and Washington, as the nation attempts to come to grips with Tuesday's catastrophe.

Initially, only today's game against Lehigh was postponed until Oct. 9 at 3:30 p.m. Later, Penn's administration decided that the gravity of the situation, especially with Bush's declaration of Friday as "a day of remembrance and prayer," warranted that all games for this weekend be canceled.

The Quakers unequivocally backed the decisions of the presidents of the United States and the University.

"Given that there is a national day of mourning, it is appropriate not to play," Penn coach Darren Ambrose said. "We support that."

Penn senior tri-captain Sabrina Fenton also realized the need to put the nation's welfare and recovery ahead of sports.

"At a national time of crisis, it's hard for individuals to put something this drastic aside and concentrate on athletics," she said.

With the overwhelming youth of the Quakers, it was the veterans who were hit hardest by the catacylismic events that have recently transpired.

Many of the team's 11 freshmen hail from outside the region and have yet to fully realize the close ties that the Penn community has with New York and Washington.

"It was strange," Fenton said. "When we had practice, the people that had the hardest time were the oldest ones. The younger you are, the more you can bounce back from something like this. I have tons of friends who work [in New York] and who saw the buildings crumble. Freshmen didn't have to deal with that."

Fortunately, despite many newcomers, the Quakers are extremely close to begin with and were able to cope with this tragedy as a group and not individually.

"I feel very lucky to be on a team because it gives everyone a support group that others don't have," Fenton said. "I have 20 shoulders to cry on."

While the coping process is vital, the Quakers will once again have to prepare to play.

Though the game against Lehigh has been rescheduled, no decision has been made regarding the rescheduling of the Temple contest. So, it looks as if the next time the Red and Blue will take the field is next Friday against powerhouse George Mason in Williamsburg, Va.

Even then, it will be a trying experience for Penn to engage in competition.

"It has taken its effect on us," Ambrose said. "The hardest battle is to say, `We're going to play and go win.' That mentality is hard."

Still, the Quakers are similar to all Americans in seeking a return to normalcy, and playing soccer is one way to regain some sort of composure in a disturbing time.

Penn, after a team consensus, held a very light practice on Wednesday.

"We felt it important to get out and do something," Ambrose said. "But we just scrimmaged and it was tough, but they gave it a go."

Nevertheless, preparing for any opponent now is a difficult task.

"We want to keep ourselves busy and keep structure in our lives and move on, but we're not looking at any competition and how to beat them," Ambrose said.

That said, it is hard to tell how the Red and Blue will handle taking the field for the first time since Tuesday's tragedy.

Quite understandably, the Quakers have lost much of the mental edge they gained from a successful start to the 2001 season last weekend after convincing wins over Iowa State and Delaware.

"Naturally, momentum was lost," senior tri-captain Sarah Campbell said. "I think [the tragedy] is still very relevant and we still have momentum to go with, but it's not the same."

Regardless, the Red and Blue will suit up next Friday. Their competitive instincts will soon resurface and Penn will look for their third win of the season.

For now, though, even stepping on the field seems trivial.

"When [the opposition] is on the other side, we'll regain focus," Ambrose said. "But what happened makes it a lot harder to make competition important."

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