W. Soccer working to finish scoring opportunities

It has been only three days since the Penn women's soccer team's 2-1 overtime win against Lafayette, but it will be out on Rhodes Field again this afternoon. The Quakers will face Seton Hall at 5 p.m. and, to prepare for the match, tried to get as much done as possible at yesterday's practice before the sun went down.

"We watch[ed] videotape of some of the things we did well and some of the things we didn't do so well," Penn coach Darren Ambrose said. "And hope that mentally we've got it and that we can make the changes tactically in our heads."

The team also spent a good amount of time on the field, working heavily on set pieces and playing an intrasquad scrimmage on a shortened field.

"We were just trying to give ourselves some opportunities to create more chances and finish chances," Ambrose said. "We're trying to develop more of an aggressive mentality around the goal."

Senior goalkeeper Vanessa Scotto thought that the afternoon's work paid off.

"I think it picked up a lot and the girls got hungry out there," she said. "It's going to carry onto the field tomorrow, hopefully, and we'll score a lot of goals."

Seton Hall (3-1-1) has one common opponent with Penn (1-0) this season -- La Salle. The Pirates and Explorers tied, 1-1, on Aug. 29 in South Orange, N.J. Penn will play the Explorers Sept. 21 on Rhodes Field.

Pirates' coach Betty Ann Kempf spoke highly of Penn, calling them "a very technical team, very organized team."

"I don't know what to expect," she admitted, but she singled out forward Katy Cross and midfielder Lydia Bojcun as players to watch.

"Katy [Cross] is very dangerous," Kempf added. "She's got the ability to find space and get to the goal."

Cross, who assisted on the game-winning goal against Lafayette on Saturday, was unfazed upon hearing that she merited mention from the Pirates' coach. As the defending Ivy League Player of the Year, she understands that she is usually the primary target of opposing defenses.

"When the other team's job is to take you out of the game, you can't let it get to your head," she said. "You just need to shake off anything that you didn't think was fair and keep fighting. And eventually, they'll give up by the end."

Last season, Penn beat Seton Hall, 3-2, in South Orange. Cross scored the game-winner in the 81st minute of that match and thinks that Penn can enjoy a similar result today.

"We worked on finishing a lot [at practice]," she said. "We've been making the chances so I think we just need to get our focus and we'll have success up front."

While the Quakers won Saturday, Ambrose emphasized that there were areas that needed improvement. Specifically, he wanted the team to do a better job breaking through the midfield and winning the ball.

"They're not difficult things to fix," he said. "And they've been fixed in their minds, now it's a question of applying it."

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