Penn Takes Command of Ivy Women's Race
from press release
HANOVER, N.H. - In a battle between the two Ivy
League teams unbeaten through four conference games, No. 6 Penn
made sure its place as the team to beat in the Ancient Eight with a
9-6 win at No. 7 Dartmouth.
With the win, the Quakers improve 10 10-3 overall and 5-0 in the
Ivy League. Dartmouth saw its nine-game win streak come to an end,
falling to 9-2 and 4-1 in Ivy play.
Speaking of win streaks, Penn's Ivy League win streak improved to
27, dating back to the final conference game of 2006.
"We played really well today," head coach Karin Brower Corbett said
after the game. "They had a nice crowd on Senior Day and were very
loud. It was frustrating in first half when we couldn't score as
much as we wanted, but we stuck to the game plan and our leadership
helped us keep focused."
Three was the magic number on Saturday at Scully-Fahey Field. After
Dartmouth scored first 2:16 into the game to take the opening lead,
a trio of three-goal rallies drove the storyline.
Penn countered first with three goals to take a 3-1 lead. Courtney
Lubbe's free position goal with 16:18 to play in the first half
capped the rally - and the scoring for the first half. From
that point until the close of the first half, Penn had six shots -
three saved by Julie Wadland and three which sailed wide. Dartmouth
had five shots before the end of the first half, sending three wide
and having two blocked - including a free position shot with 1:43
to play in the half.
In the second half, Dartmouth answered Penn's three-goal spurt with
one of its own. Hana Bowers scored just 56 seconds in and the Big
Green added two more before eight minutes were gone to take a 4-3
lead.
Emma Spiro tied the game with 16:22 remaining via her second goal
of the game on a pass from Erin Brennan. 1:25 later, Giulia
Giordano took a Lubbe feed and gave Penn the lead, 5-4. Just over
two minutes later, Megan Smith scored her sixth goal of the season
to double the lead to 6-4.
Sarah Plumb got Dartmouth back within one on her second goal of the
game with 11:24 to play, but the Quakers did not wilt. Giordano
struck back immediately for Penn on a free position shot 49 seconds
later. Three and a half minutes later Lubbe added some breathing
room with her second of the game.
Bowers gave Dartmouth some life with 5:50 to play, scoring her
second of the game, but that was as close as the Big Green would
get. Ali DeLuca won the draw control for Penn, and the Quakers held
the ball for the next 2:09, missing wide on two Spiro shots.
Dartmouth had a chance on attack with under two to play, but a
Hilary Smith turnover quashed any chance of a comeback. Freshman
Maddie Poplawski put things away with her 15th goal of the year
with 11 seconds left.
Three players had three points for Penn in the win - Spiro, Lubbe
and Giordano. All three had the same scoring line, two goals and an
assist. Brennan finished with a goal and an assist. DeLuca was
blanked on the scoring sheet despite five shots, but she was a
dominating force on draw controls, with a game-high of five.
The solid effort on draws played a vital role in the win for Penn.
After watching the opposition out-draw them for four of the past
five games, the Quakers locked down and held Dartmouth to just four
draw controls (all in the second half) while coming up with 13 of
their own.
The edge in possession gained from winning draws was important as
the two teams were even in turnovers at 16 apiece. Penn caused
eight of Dartmouth's miscues, led by Carolyn Pollard's two caused
turnovers. Pollard also chipped in two ground balls. Spiro led the
Quakers in ground balls with three, while Lily Posner and Emily
Szelest each had two.
The Quakers played tight defense as usual, limiting the Big Green
to just 14 shots and their lowest scoring output of the season.
Greta Meyer, who entered the game as Dartmouth's leading scorer
with 46 points was limited to just two shots (neither of which
reached goal) and one assist.
"We did a great job limiting their chances," Corbett said. "They
didn't have much time to take shots and we came through with big
saves. Emily Szelest may not have had the save numbers, but she was
aggressive in forcing turnovers to start the offense in
transition."
The win puts Penn in prime position to secure the Ivy League
regular season championship and home field in the inaugural Ivy
League Playoffs. The Quakers are in control of their own destiny
and a win at Princeton on Wednesday could lock up at least a share
of their fourth-straight Ivy title. Or, it could secure the
outright championship completely based on the result of Dartmouth's
game at Harvard. If the Crimson down the Big Green in Cambridge on
Wednesday, a Penn win at Princeton on the same day will clinch the
championship for the Red and Blue. Harvard already did its part to
help Penn, beating the Tigers on Saturday, 11-9, to ensure
Princeton can only get a piece of the title via a three-way tie.
The Quakers and Tigers meet at 7 p.m. April 21 at Princeton.
