Penn women’s soccer’s match against Harvard will mark the beginning of conference play on Saturday. It will also mark the one-year anniversary — to the day — of the heartbreaking loss that ultimately crowned the Crimson the 2013 Ivy League champions.
The Quakers (3-1-2, 0-0 Ivy) play Harvard (5-2, 0-0) at Rhodes Field on Saturday in a matchup of the top two Ivy squads from a year ago, once again beginning Ivy League play against the rival Crimson.
“Of course in the back of everyone’s minds heading into the weekend, it’s Harvard,” senior back and captain Haley Cooper said.
With the memory of last year’s loss — one sealed by a Quakers own goal with just four minutes left in the contest — very much fresh in the minds of upperclassmen and freshmen alike, the Red and Blue are looking to start this Ivy season with a win.
“Especially after last year’s loss and having [Harvard] at home this year, it’s very exciting,” senior midfielder Kaitlyn Moore said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to shut them out and get our win.”
At the 2012 Penn-Harvard game, Moore, then a sophomore, scored the game-winning goal with ten seconds left to play.
“I’m just hoping that that goal will happen again,” Moore exclaimed.
The team’s first real road trip of the season took place over last weekend. It culminated in a 0-0 draw against Virgina Commonwealth (VCU) and a 1-0 win against Delaware.
The lone goal of the weekend came off of a header from Moore, who was playing in her first game all season due to injury. Cooper spoke to the value of the away games.
“[Last week’s road trip] was huge. I can’t even describe it,” she said. “That was always going to be the weekend for us to build momentum going into Harvard. It was really important, they were good teams, and we were on the road, so we had the cards stacked against us. We got a tie against a good team and a win.”
After conceding six goals in three games leading up to the pair of away games, the Red and Blue defense had looked uncharacteristically shaky so far this year. The shutout road trip was indicative of how much the team had gelled in a week.
“I think we’re finally starting to find our places and our roles in the backline,” Cooper said. “We had some injuries and we had some younger kids coming in but it just took us a couple games and we’re finally back to the foundation of what we do: defending the backline all the way to forwards, staying compact and staying on the same page.”
As for playing in their first Ivy games, Cooper spoke about the anticipation and excitement that is so contagious in sport.
“I think they’re right there with us. You never really know how important conference games are until you play in one,” she said. “You hear everyone talking about Harvard and Princeton, but not until you get to play them do you realize what it’s all about. They’re just as excited as we are. They’ve got the mentality: we don’t lose at Rhodes.”
With momentum on their side, a chip on their shoulders and a home field advantage, the Quakers are ready to take on the Crimson.
“I literally couldn’t be more excited,” Cooper said. “Especially because it’s our Ivy opener, especially because it’s senior year.
“What more could you want but to play defending champion Harvard at Rhodes?”
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