Women's Soccer looking for revenge

Jenna Linden remembers.

The freshman midfielder for the Penn women's soccer team recalls watching the Quakers fall to Dartmouth last September during her recruiting trip.

She remembers overtime.

It was in the fourth minute of the extra period that the referee called Penn's Heather Issing for a handball in the box and awarded Dartmouth a penalty kick.

Mary McVeigh put her shot past Vanessa Scotto -- ending the Penn goalkeeper's 320-minute shutout streak -- and applied the brakes to the Quakers' undefeated season. Dartmouth escaped with a 2-1 victory.

But the Quakers contend that the handball should never have been called.

"I just know how [the game] was won," Linden said. "It was a bad call on the ref's part."

The loss paved the way for a three-way tie among atop the Ivy League standings. Penn, Dartmouth and Princeton shared the crown.

"It was a pretty even game," Linden said. "But Penn had the ball more often and probably should have won the game."

The Quakers (7-6-3 overall, 2-1-3 Ivy) do not have a chance to capture the Ancient Eight title this year, but that will not stop them from trying to steal this year's game from Dartmouth (12-3-1, 5-1).

The Big Green have been on a tear, winning 11 straight. With a win against Penn on Saturday, they will split the Ivy title with Princeton.

For the Quakers, this game is an opportunity for redemption.

The overtime loss "has definitely been on our minds," Penn captain Jen Valentine said. "From that moment on, we've wanted to get revenge on Dartmouth."

The match will be an emotional one for Valentine and fellow senior Heather Taylor. Their Penn careers end tomorrow.

"I just want to win," Valentine said. "It's my last hurrah."

"Taylor and I want to go and play as hard as we can and go out on a high note."

Linden would like nothing more than to accommodate her senior teammates.

"They are both great people," she said. "J.V. is a strong presence on the field, and the same goes for Heather Taylor.

"The shoes people will have to fill next year are huge."

But before the Quakers can start thinking about 2003, they must first close out 2002.

According to Valentine, the Big Green are a physically imposing team.

To negate the size difference, she said, the Quakers will have to hit their passes and play a fast game.

Leading Penn in its role as spoiler is coach Darren Ambrose. He is aware that the Red and Blue must play an inspired game to win.

Though they have claimed two straight victories, the Quakers are still leaving chances on the field. Ambrose knows that squandering scoring opportunities may pass against Lehigh, but that it will not against Dartmouth.

"We had lots of chances," Ambrose said of the 2-0 victory over the Engineers. "There were three or four more that we could've scored on. We're not going to do well against Dartmouth unless we put away a couple more of those [opportunities]."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.