Goalkeeper Sara Rose has posted four shutouts for the women's soccer team this season, including blank slates over Harvard and Cornell - and there is nothing to stop her from thinking that Dartmouth will struggle to put one past her tomorrow in Hanover, N.H.
"It's easy to say that a shutout would be great," she said. "Any shutout in an Ivy League game is an awesome thing to have."
Nobody on the Big Green (6-5-1, 0-3-0 Ivy) cracks the Ancient Eight top 10 in points. Junior midfielder Myra Sack leads the way with just three goals and four assists.
But Penn coach Darren Ambrose doesn't expect to provide much additional motivation for the Quakers (7-3-2, 2-0-1 Ivy).
"I don't think as a coaching staff we need to go in with fire and brimstone speeches," he said. "They know what's at stake."
The Red and Blue haven't lost since Sept. 19 at Richmond. Their seven-game unbeaten streak is the second longest in program history, and they feel they can extend it this weekend.
"Dartmouth is a good team, but I don't think we're really worrying much about them," Rose said. "We're just kind of worrying about what we can do, and we know that if we play as well as we can, we can beat pretty much any team we're going to play."
Ambrose said his squad will have to play quickly and capitalize on their chances when attacking the net to handle an organized Dartmouth bunch. Penn won last season's matchup, 2-1, after dropping two straight 1-0 contests.
This year's Quakers are noted for their team play, and they will still be relying heavily on the playmaking of midfielder Sarah Friedman, who has already set the single-season program record with an Ivy-best 12 assists.
"I think we just have to keep playing together, keep our heads up, come out as hard as we can and if we play fast and together, we should be fine," Rose said.
A victory on Saturday will be crucial for the Quakers' defense of their conference crown.
"We're at a point in the season where we're sitting at great position," Ambrose said. "And if we want to be in that position at the end of the year, they got to do what they're capable of and play to their strength."
