W. Soccer to battle La Salle at Rhodes

The Penn women's soccer team will have a couple of extra days to prepare for their match against La Salle on Sunday, thanks to the presence of Hurricane Isabel, which is currently sweeping the East Coast. Penn's match against George Mason in Fairfax, Va., scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight, has been postponed due to the severity of the storm. Sunday's matchup will be played at Penn on Rhodes Field, assuming the hurricane doesn't have other plans. Mother Nature aside, Penn currently boasts a 2-0-2 record with wins against Lafayette and Seton Hall. Despite La Salle's not-so-stellar record thus far, the Quakers are expecting quite a challenge as the Explorers (0-4-1) have been known to be a better team than their record shows. "We feel [La Salle's] going to be even hungrier because they haven't won a game yet," freshman Erica Messina said. "They will be fighting very hard, so there's no way we're going to be taking them lightly." The Explorers opened their season Aug. 29 with a 1-1 tie against Seton Hall. La Salle then went on to lose four straight against Syracuse, George Mason, Hofstra and SUNY Stony Brook. La Salle was scheduled to face off against the Virginia Tech Hokies this afternoon, but the game was postponed due to the storm. Senior forward Krista Lee is currently the Explorers' leading scorer with six points on three goals. La Salle has not been able to find stability in the goalkeeping position, as two players have shared time between the pipes. Sophomore Marisa Suarez and senior Kerry Schamberger have started two and three matches, respectively. The Quakers will look to take advantage of La Salle's inconsistency on the defensive side of the ball. On Sunday, the Quakers pulled out a 3-3 tie against UNC-Greensboro (2-2-2) and junior Katy Cross surpassed the program's all-time points record by scoring all three goals for Penn. She has 73 career points going into the weekend. Following Sunday's battle, the Quakers were displeased with their inability to finish off an opponent. In a match they feel they should have won, Sunday's tie helped the Quakers see one aspect of their game where they want and need to improve -- winning at the end. Since their first game, the Quakers have had an strong defense and quick-footed midline. However, they need their offense to, in the words of Jessica Woodward, "eat the space." The team's passing has been solid -- each pass carefully thought out and executed with the intention of opening up the field and creating opportunities. "We just need to eliminate our errors in front and really focus on the accuracy of our shots," Messina said. These few extra days will give the Quakers time for the extra shooting practice they need. "We've been spending a lot of time in front of the net setting up plays and always going for the goal," Messina said. "This should help us in Sunday's matchup."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.