While the Ivy League season doesn't start until Sept. 27, the Penn women's soccer team got a sneak preview of some of its Ancient Eight competition Sunday as league rivals Princeton and Columbia visited Rhodes Field for a pair of preseason scrimmages.
Although both games ended in a scoreless tie, Penn coach Darren Ambrose was satisfied with his team's play.
"The fact that we didn't concede a goal in two one-hour games is great," he said.
Penn goalkeepers Vanessa Scotto and Anna Halse, each of whom played in portions of both games, led the way for the Quakers' shutout defense.
"All last year we encouraged defense," Ambrose said. "Now, we look solid."
The fourth-year coach was especially pleased with the effort of junior defensive player Jessica Woodward.
"Her play was consistent and intelligent," he said.
Even though it was only a scrimmage, the Quakers were able to shut out a Tigers team that won the Ancient Eight title last season, going 6-1 in Ivy action.
The Quakers -- who finished tied for third in the Ivies in 2002 -- will look to have a similar defensive outing when Princeton returns to Rhodes during the regular season for a Nov. 8 matchup.
Penn will travel to Columbia -- who, at 0-5-2 last year, finished at the bottom of the Ivy League -- on Oct. 11.
However, the Penn coach was also quick to note that the games weren't meant for getting information about future opponents.
"It's too early for scouting," Ambrose said. "What it gives us is an idea as to where we are compared to other teams at this time."
While the Red and Blue were unable to put the ball in the net, they did create several solid scoring opportunities.
Penn's best chance at a goal came in the Columbia game, when junior forward Rachelle Snyder had an open look at the net. However, a Columbia defender grabbed Snyder's jersey, preventing her from scoring.
The Quakers' were awarded a penalty kick, but sophomore forward Carolyn Cross' shot was saved.
Ambrose was not able to get a good look at his freshman recruits in the scrimmage, as the members of the Class of 2007 were forced to leave the match after the first 20 minutes to participate in the Penn Reading Project.
While Ambrose was upset that his freshmen could not get some good experience, he insisted that he has "already identified their roles."
While the game had no effect on Penn's standings for the regular season, Ambrose still told his players to give it their all.
"Every game we want to compete," he said. "We didn't want anyone to get hurt, but we did want to play hard."
