VILLANOVA, Pa. The Penn quarterbacks' effort - a combined 23 for 42, 248 yards, two touchdowns and seven interceptions - is a misleading stat line. They played far worse. Villanova's defense befuddled quarterback Robert Irvin (five interceptions, 27 attempts) and backup Bryan Walker (two picks, 15 attempts) all night, and despite a good overall effort, the Quakers fell hard.

VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Quakers had a chance to become the queens of the city this weekend. It turns out they are squarely in the middle of the pack in Philadelphia's soccer hierarchy. After defeating La Salle at Rhodes Field 3-1 Friday, Penn was blanked on the road by Villanova 4-0 yesterday.

When Villanova quarterback Marvin Burroughs graduated last spring, Wildcats fans probably thought they had seen the last of the veteran that carried the offense for three years. But the familiar face has been in the crowd at the home games so far, watching his successor, sophomore quarterback Antwon Young, who has been like a younger brother to him.

No matter how many times you knock them down, they're going to get right back up - and probably score a couple of goals while they're at it. Despite suffering their fair share of bumps and bruises, the Penn women's soccer team has managed to rise above considerable adversity early this season to post a 4-1-1 record.

Cornell (1-0, 0-0) at Yale (1-0, 0-0) It's not often that a team can play spoiler in Week 2, but that's the role Cornell may find itself in tomorrow when it pays No. 21 Yale a visit. The Big Red, who crushed Bucknell last weekend, could send the Elis toppling out of the top-25 and simultaneously ruin their home opener if they were to pull off the upset.

Penn volleyball will need every advantage this weekend. And the Palestra just might give one to them. Facing top teams Albany (7-5) and Temple (4-10) in the Sheraton-Penn invitational this weekend the Quakers may have to rely on a little home-court advantage.

Tomorrow night will take the Penn-Villanova football game to a place it hasn't been for years: Villanova Stadium. The teams will meet for the fourth year in a row, but no current Penn player has set foot in the Wildcats' home venue.

Time to settle down. No more road trips out west, no more Penn Soccer Classic. No more goalie waffling. No excuses. The men's soccer team (1-3-1) begins the main stretch of its season at Rhodes Field on Saturday night against Lehigh. There are only three more matches until the short Ivy League season begins, and coach Rudy Fuller laments that his team "is not as far along as we want to be at this point.

6-foot-10, 230-pound power forward Andrew Van Nest is seriously considering playing basketball at Penn, according to his father, Jeffrey Van Nest. The Weston, Mass. native, whose mother graduated from the University, has scheduled an official visit to Penn during the weekend of September 29th.

It's hard to believe a man like Jim Steel, Penn football's strength and conditioning coach, would ever consider bulking up unhealthy. But after years of pumping iron for himself, Steel has traded in muscles for clipboards and is back to doing what he loves - coaching others to be bigger and stronger.

Most prized high-school basketball recruits spend the summer before senior year frantically deliberating with parents and coaches about which colleges they should consider visiting and which ones they should cross off their ever-growing lists. But by early July, 6-foot-1 point guard Zack Rosen had already narrowed his list down to one: Penn.

Joe Sandberg is out for now. The senior tailback hasn't yet shaken the stiffness out of his leg, and his status for Saturday's game against Villanova is "doubtful."

Going back to my freshman year, Penn has played Villanova three times each in football and basketball. Those six meetings all have two things in common: They were all played here on Penn's campus, and they were all Wildcats victories. That's right; six big, fat losses, right in our own backyard.

Although Tobi Olopade's accomplishments freshman year as a dual-sport, walk-on athlete are already impressive, he wants to have a greater impact on the soccer team in the coming years.

Braden Lepisto's hold was wobbly, and the first field-goal attempt of freshman kicker Andrew Samson's Penn career plonked off the upright on Saturday. Right away, Quakers coach Al Bagnoli realized he hadn't given enough thought to one variable. It was Lepisto's first hold in a game since his sophomore year of high school.

Joe Sandberg's hamstring injury in the opener against Lafayette could have been a costly one for Penn, depending on the evaluation. And while the result wasn't all rosy for the Quakers, the team can breathe a deep sigh of relief. "He didn't pull anything -- he just hasn't practiced much and his leg got fatigued," coach Al Bagnoli said yesterday.

They've been heating up halftimes at the Palestra since 2001. But the Quaker Girls dance team has one request: Please don't confuse them with the cheerleading squad.