Writing on wall after loss

It has been their mantra for two years, written plain and clear across the top of their coach's whiteboard, but never before has it seemed so relevant.

The women on the Penn soccer team have lived by the phrase "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."

After suffering a shocking 2-0 upset loss to Ivy cellar-dweller Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H., on Saturday the motto the Quakers crafted as a team started to look like prophesy.

Tonight, the Red and Blue (7-4-2, 2-1-1 Ivy) will host another team that, by all indications, they should beat. Rider (2-9-3) comes to Rhodes Field for a 7 p.m. match that has taken on a greater significance than anyone could have anticipated.

"It's important for us as a team to re-establish some of the parts of the game that we play," coach Darren Ambrose said. "It's an opportunity for players to make amends. I think we've gotten ahead of ourselves. As far as we're concerned, the only game in our season is tomorrow."

The Broncos will test the Quakers physically, playing what senior midfielder Natalie Capuano calls "blue collar" soccer. Ambrose says Rider's toughness is exactly the kind of test his team needs.

"We know they're going to come in to fight," he said. "That's something that we need to see - we need to see how we'll respond."

From a technical standpoint, the Quakers aren't worried. The reigning Ivy League champions know they have the talent to win, but their recent experience on Saturday has left them sure of little else.

"This team has to make a decision at the moment, and I think they're coming to that decision and we'll find out tomorrow," Ambrose said of his team's mentality and commitment.

"We have to have a bit more fight in us, a bit more drive. We have to play with a little bit more heart."

With only two wins this season, Rider seems like a perfect punching bag for Penn to execute its revenge.

Rider has been outshot by opponents, 267-130, this season, and is averaging less than one goal per game. Penn, on the other hand, has attempted 60 more shots than its opponents and scores an average of 2.21 goals per contest.

"We're very disappointed and frustrated after the game on Saturday," Capuano said. "I think that we're going to come out and take our frustration out on Rider."

As Dartmouth taught the Quakers, nothing is a sure thing, and tonight's match will show if they learned their lesson.

"All we ever ask of them is when you walk off the field, you can walk away from the game knowing that you left everything on the field," Ambrose said. "I honestly don't think that they can say that right now about their last game."

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