Penn is Mightier: Quakers Parry Hopkins
from press release
PHIALDELPHIA - No. 7 Penn put together a 7-1 run to open
the game against Johns Hopkins, and staved off any thoughts of a
Blue Jay rally for an 11-7 win.
The two sides traded goals to start the game, but after Johns
Hopkins tied the game at 1-1, Bridget Waclawik scored the first of
her two goals just 34 seconds later to give Penn a lead it would
never relinquish.
Waclawik's goal was a thing of beauty as she took an Ali DeLuca
pass right in front of goalkeeper Cosette Larash and flipped a shot
behind her head while going across the front of the goal with 22:11
to play in the half. Less than a minute later, Maddie Poplawski
doubled the lead by finishing off an Erin Brennan pass as soon as
it landed in her pocket.
After Brennan scored at 15:13, the Quakers rattled off three free
position goals in a row to widen their advantage. DeLuca, Brennan
and Poplawski each made Johns Hopkins pay for fouls in close to
give Penn a 7-1 lead.
The Red and Blue's large halftime lead was not for a lack of trying
by the Blue Jays. Hopkins was on target throughout the opening 30
minutes with its shots. JHU took 10 shots in the first half - two
of which were goals. One sailed wide. The other seven were stopped
by Penn keeper Emily Szelest.
Szelest, who entered the game with the second-lowest GAA in the
nation, finished the game with 11 saves, one shy of equaling her
career-high.
Penn diversified its offense, with six different players scoring at
least one goal and five of those scorers finishing with two goals.
In total, three players finished the game with two goals and an
assist.
In the second half, it took over 11 minutes for either team to
score, with Penn striking first on a Waclawik score. Johns Hopkins
answered with three straight goals in a span of 6:13 to close the
gap to 9-5. Paige Ibello had two of those goals for the Blue Jays
on feeds from Candace Rossi.
The two teams traded goals with less than eight minutes to play,
making the score 10-6. With 4:51 remaining, DeLuca scored her
second of the game on a nice bounce shot through Lizzie O'Ferrall's
five-hole for Penn's final score of the game. Angela Hughes
converted a free position for Johns Hopkins with 49 seconds left
for her third of the game, but Penn ran out the clock after winning
the ensuing draw control.
Brennan, DeLuca and Emma Spiro each had two draw controls for Penn.
Lily Posner had a strong defensive game, coming up with three
ground balls and a draw control while causing a pair of turnovers.
Fellow defender Kaileigh Wright had a pair of caused turnovers and
ground balls to go with one draw control.
The Quakers improve to 7-1 on the season while Hopkins falls to
5-4.
Penn is back in action on Saturday, heading to Ithaca for its first
road Ivy game of the season at Cornell. Game starts at 1 p.m.
