Riding its first 3-0 league start in three years, the Penn women's soccer team has adopted an "if-it-ain't-broke" mentality as the season barrels down the home stretch.
So far, it's hard to argue with the results.
Winners of four straight, including those three Ivy triumphs, Penn (9-2-1, 3-0 Ivy) hopes to stay sharp tomorrow afternoon at Rhodes Field in a pivotal Ancient Eight showdown with Yale (7-5, 2-1).
"I think we're pretty confident," said coach Darren Ambrose. "We've played well on both sides of the ball. It's just a question of us coming out and doing what we've been doing all season. Nothing different."
"We're not gonna change anything," sophomore Jess Rothenheber said.
While the confidence is clearly there, the Quakers realize they are facing a gritty Bulldogs team that played them to a scoreless draw last year in New Haven, Conn.
"They're a blue-collar team," said captain Natalie Capuano. "We just have to be ready to physically as well as mentally battle them."
Ambrose agrees, noting that both teams' attacking styles should make for an "end-to-end type game."
"Competing is the bottom line here," he said. "You can throw the X's and O's out the window if you don't compete."
The Red and Blue hope to benefit from the strong play of Rothenheber and fellow sophomore Jessica Fuccello.
In last Saturday's come-from-behind win over Dartmouth, Fuccello headed her classmate's feed home for the equalizer in the 37th minute. The goal was Fuccello's Ivy League-best eighth of the season, and her third in as many contests. Rothenheber - who scored later in the match to put the Quakers ahead for good - leads the team with seven assists in 2007.
"They're attacking players, and they've taken their chances," said Ambrose. "They're creating players, and they've been involved in a lot of our attack. That's why we recruited them."
Rothenheber, for one, is quick to deflect the credit for her team's recent feats.
"I think a lot of us have contributed to everyone else's success," she said. "I don't think one individual person has [made the team] different than last year, just a combination of everyone."
The Bulldogs, who have only lost twice to Penn in the two teams' 16 matches, come to Philadelphia on the heels of a commanding 5-0 victory over Cornell.
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