W. Soccer primed for banner year

Expectations will be high for the Penn women's soccer team this fall as the Quakers will look to improve upon last year's Ivy League title run and NCAA tournament berth.

Much of Penn's flashy team will return to Rhodes Field this fall. Sophomore standouts Katy Cross and Rachelle Snyder will again lead the Quakers' high-powered offense.

Cross ended last season as an NSCAA 2nd Team All-American and Ivy League Rookie of the year. Along the way she scored 12 goals and dished out 10 assists in addition to shattering Penn's single season scoring record before the end of October.

Snyder did not go unnoticed herself, earning a 1st Team Mid-Atlantic Region selection and breaking the Penn record for points in a game by notching eight against Delaware, including four goals.

Cross and Snyder will continue to raise the level of play for the Quakers.

And while the coaching staff will be pushing its two sophomore studs to lead the Quakers to newer heights, the national media will also be joining the bandwagon as well.

Previously ranked No. 25 in the SoccerAmerica.com preseason poll, the Quakers (13-2-3 in 2001) recently moved up to No.22. Penn is the only Ivy League team to crack the Top 25 so far this year.

"We are looking to prove that last year wasn't a fluke. We want everyone to know we are true champions," Penn sophomore defender Jessica Woodward said. "Right now we don't command the respect we deserve, and we want to prove how good we are."

Returning almost all of last year's team, the Quakers' goals seem realistic. Penn only graduated two players and will welcome 10 newcomers to Rhodes Field.

The influx of players has created fresh competition and raised the level of intensity at practice.

"All the freshmen play at a similar level [to that of the existing roster]," Woodward said. "The level of play won't drop when our subs come on the field."

Senior defender and co-captain Jen Valentine echoed Woodward's thoughts.

"The freshmen will definitely compete this fall," she said. "A lot of them have stepped up and are competing for spots, which is what we would expect from a recruiting class."

This year's strong group of recruits will give head coach Darren Ambrose more choices on the the Penn sidelines.

"The new players have given us some much needed depth, which we didn't have last year," Penn sophomore forward and 2001 NSCAA All-American Cross said. "Any one of our players can step on the field and do the same job."

Penn's depth will be a tremendous boon to the Quakers this season, who struggled with injuries last season.

"Injuries ended up being an issue last year," Valentine said. They started to creep up on us towards the end of the season." Valentine said. "We're being smarter this year."

"We aren't pushing people as hard."

Despite a more judicious approach, the Quakers have already been dealt a tough blow with an injury to junior co-captain Heather Issing in preseason. A defensive player, Issing started all 18 games last season, was injured during the practice and will be out indefinitely.

Besides replacing Issing, Penn will also look to create some chemistry among their defensive line. Though the Red and Blue return two players -- Woodward and Valentine -- they play a difficult flat-four and have been working to solidify their defense during preseason.

"We started the flat-four as a new system last year," Woodward said. "We had to learn it as a group then, and we will have to learn it as a group again this year."

Sophomores Carrie Johnson and Amy Salomon, along with some of the incoming freshmen will compete for the remaining two defensive spots.

Penn will open its season on Friday in Harrisonburg, Va. against Richmond at the James Madison University Comfort Inn Invitational. The Red and Blue will then take on JMU Sunday afternoon.

While the Quakers undoubtedly have the pressure of being a top-ranked team on their backs, the team maintains a simple attitude.

"We just want to win," Valentine said."

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