Many famous players in soccer have had flamboyant off-the-field personalities to match their exploits on it. But Penn forward Katy Cross, who as a junior broke the all-time Quakers women's team points record this past weekend against UNC-Greensboro, is not that type of person.
In fact, considering how reserved she usually is off the field, you probably would not know how ruthless she has been on the field since arriving at Penn -- unless you were there to see her play.
But the events of the last week have thrust her into the spotlight, and she admits that she somewhat appreciates being in the limelight.
"It's nice to be noticed," Cross said. "I don't think it's a bad thing that it got a little media so that our team could get on the books, become known."
The Claremont, Calif. native's exploits have earned her the nickname "Franchise" from many Penn soccer fans, including a few of her biggest -- the Penn men's soccer team.
But Cross admitted that she is "not going to say whether it's correct or not -- they're going to do what they're going to do."
Of course, the strongest praise for Cross has come from her own teammates and coaches.
"She's probably the most talented forward the program has ever seen," Penn coach Darren Ambrose said. "She has all the qualities that a good forward has -- she's technical, she's fast, she understands the tactical side of it, she understands the finishing side."
But Ambrose also believes that Cross is the way she is because of one characteristic she does not share with some of the game's more famous goal-scorers.
"You have to have a certain attitude as a forward in some senses," he said. "You've got to be a bit selfish, you've got to have a bit of an ego -- but it's not the case with her. She's such an unassuming and humble player. I think that's why she has everybody's respect, because nothing fazes her in that sense."
Cross' ability to take the ball and find the back of the net when it matters most is of particular importance to the Penn defense, which is led this year by senior co-captain Heather Issing.
"Every team's dream is to have a goal-scorer," Issing said. "It's actually really hard to come by. We lucked out by getting her, and she works really hard on top of that."
But Cross knows that with the increase in attention off the field, comes an increase in attention on it -- in the form of more defenders watching her every move.
"I have to go out there and make sure that I don't let it get to my head, that if their goal is to frustrate me out of the game that I don't let that happen," she said.
Cross noted that breaking the Penn all-time points record, previously held by Andrea Callaghan, was never really a big issue with her.
"At the end of last year, the DP was stressing it, the media was talking about it," Cross said. "As part of a team, we don't put any emphasis on it."
She did not even know that she had broken the record with her first of three goals against UNC-Greensboro until it was announced over the public address system.
"It was just like any other goal," she said. "I didn't know, I mean, I wasn't thinking about that."
Ambrose believes that Cross' scoring is part of a larger trend within the Penn soccer program.
"If you look over the last three years at how the program has changed... there are all kinds of records that have been broken," he said. "If you add up all those different records, it speaks volumes about how the program has developed into one of the most competitive in the Ivy League."
Cross knew that at some point she might be able to take her talents to levels beyond college, although the recent folding of the Women's United Soccer Association could frustrate those plans.
"It's a little sad that the league died," she said. "I was going to see how it went, and if there were any offers next year, I would have definitely considered playing after college."
Fortunately for those here at Penn, Cross still has another year and a half left to continue re-writing the history books at Rhodes Field.
