The Penn women's soccer team learned Wednesday night against La Salle that it needs to play at its best to win, and the Quakers will need to keep this lesson in mind when they travel to Ithaca, N.Y., this weekend to take on Ivy League rival Cornell.
It won't be an easy win by any stretch of the imagination. Cornell has a 4-2-2 record and won its first Ivy League game.
"We'll be hoping to keep our undefeated Ivy League record going," Penn senior Rachelle Snyder said.
The Quakers are 1-0 in Ivy League play, despite a less-than- spectacular 3-4-1 overall record.
The Red and Blue's record is more a reflection of the strength of their competition, not the weakness of their play.
The team started the season with a tough stretch of six games that included road matchups with a number of ranked opponents and a tough trip to California.
The Quakers have responded, led by star senior Katy Cross.
Cross broke the all-time Penn assist record two weeks ago at San Francisco. In Penn's last game, she added to her record with an assist and then set up the thrilling game winner over the Explorers.
Against La Salle, Penn did not play its best game against an inferior opponent, and it took a goal in double overtime to secure the victory.
"We made it more of a tough game than it actually was," Snyder said.
But the team was able to gain some knowledge and confidence through the adversity.
Snyder credits a good defense and a strong group of freshmen as reasons for the Quakers' success.
"Our defense has really been doing a good job of working together and stepping up," she said. "And the freshmen have been coming on, regardless of how much time they're getting."
The rookies showed that on Wednesday night when Penn freshman Ashley Wallach was able to net the game-winning goal.
That goal was an example of the kind of play Penn needs to be successful: players stepping up, filling in and taking advantage of their opportunities.
"We just need to put on the field what we've been doing in practice," Snyder said.
If Penn can do that, heroics by unheralded freshmen will not even be needed.
