Quaker Matchup Offers Chance To Start Anew

Any avid “Man vs. Wild” fan will recite that an animal is often the most dangerous when it is hurt. The Harvard women’s soccer team, roughed up in preseason and with a record to show it, comes out tomorrow against the University of Pennsylvania with an injured pride and a thirst for redemption.

The Crimson will face off this weekend at Ohiri field against a powerful Quaker team that, in its previous game, scored three goals in just over eight minutes to salvage a 3-3 tie against Georgetown University.

This weekend marks the Ivy League opener for Penn (3-1-2) and Harvard (1-5-1). Both teams look to start their Ancient Eight schedules off on the right foot, working towards the automatic entry into the NCAA tournament that accompanies an Ivy League crown.

The Crimson experienced an undeniably rocky start to the season. Since its victory over UNH on Sept. 8, the team has dropped four straight games throughout which it has scored a meager three goals–the same number that Penn forward Jessica Fuccello put up in her team’s last game.

The disappointing ratio of L’s to W’s comes as a bit of a surprise. Last year the team boasted 10 wins and claimed the Ivy League championship before heading on to NCAA’s. And that was no fluke: Harvard witnessed the same number of victories in 2007.

The past two weeks, Harvard fell consecutively to Long Beach State, Hofstra, then No.-14 Boston College, and Boston University. The women’s squad dropped its most recent contest, 1-0 to the latter team in a defensive battle in which the Crimson mustered only one shot.

“We’re putting that behind us,” said third-year head coach Ray Leone. “In my mind, we’re starting 0-0.”

Leone also sees Harvard’s past losses as a learning opportunity.

“The games were worthwhile and hopefully have prepared us for a tough Ivy League schedule,” Leone said.

As opposed to Harvard, the Quakers have had an impressive start to their season, tallying 14 goals over six games and losing only once to Northwestern. Senior forward Jessica Fuccello, who scored all three goals in Penn’s comeback last Sunday, spearheads the Quaker offense. Fuccello has outmaneuvered opposing goalies eight times and has been voted Ivy League Player of the Week for two of the past three weeks.

“They’ve got excellent players at every single position,” Leone said. “They’ve had a great start.”

While Harvard is well aware of the competency of its opponent, the team refuses to dwell on it.

“We’re all focusing more on ourselves than on Penn,” co-captain Lizzy Nichols said. “We need to have more confidence going into the game.”

The Crimson is also looking to reverse a recent losing trend against the Quakers, as Penn has come out on top in each of the past two years. In last year’s Ivy League opener, the Quakers triumphed over the Crimson in a 2-0 shutout.

“We’re all looking forward to starting the Ivy League season,” Nichols said. “We’re going into this week of training really positive. It’s just about finding that attitude to win.”

For Penn, the challenge will be in bypassing senior goalie Lauren Mann, who had a season-high 12 saves against BC on Sept. 18, raising her career total to 252–good for fifth on Harvard’s all-time save list.

Junior forward Katherine Sheeleigh, who leads the Harvard scorers with two goals and one assist, and freshman forward Caroline Albanese, who has two goals of her own, will prove a threat to Penn as well.

After a week of practice, Leone and Harvard look to rebound from their losses and rack up a much-needed win in an early yet still significant matchup.

“I’m looking forward to our team coming out with a lot of energy and excitement to start a new Ivy League season,” Leone said.