Penn Clinches Share of Ivy League Title
from press release
PRINCETON, N.J. -- A 6-4 lead at halftime had
No. 6 Penn unsure about the outcome of its game at rival Princeton
on Wednesday, but a 6-1 advantage in the second half pushed the
Quakers to a 12-5 win over the Tigers. With the win, the Quakers
improve to 6-0 in the Ivy League, securing at least a share of the
Ivy League championship. Dartmouth defeated Harvard in Cambridge,
11-9, earlier in the day to delay Penn's outright celebration.
Senior Megan Smith, playing in her final regular-season game
against Princeton, had her first career multi-goal game with a hat
trick. She scored the first goal for Penn 3:06 into the game. With
3:32 left in the first half, Smith scored again - netting the
game-winner. Late in the game, she added her third as part of a 5-0
Penn run to blow open a two-goal game.
Smith was not alone in potting a hat trick. Sophomore Erin Brennan
had three goals and an assist, matching her goal total from last
year's game with the Tigers. Two of Brennan's goals came during
that five-score stretch in the final 19:37 of play.
However, combined those two players were still only one point away
from the effort put forth by Ali DeLuca.
In her final game at Princeton Stadium, DeLuca factored in directly
on half of Penn's goals. She finished with two goals and four
assists for six points - the third time this season she has reached
that mark. DeLuca had a goal to go with a pair of assists in each
half, content to set up her teammates as Princeton's defense hoped
to contain Penn's all-time leading goal scorer. All four of her
assists led to goals from different Penn players.
The game opened with a pretty quick pace, with five shots finding
the back of the cage in the first 10:44. Four of those goals came
from Penn sticks, but the Tigers did not relent.
Lizzy Drumm scored twice in the final 16 minutes of the opening
half and Allison Behringer added a goal with 14 seconds left in the
half to send the game to the break 6-4 in favor of the Quakers.
Courtney Lubbe opened the scoring in the second half with her first
of two in the game. Jenna Washabaugh answered 32 seconds later for
the Tigers, but that was all the offense left in Princeton for the
night.
Brennan had a hand in three-straight for Penn to widen the gap,
scoring twice and dishing out one helper. Her second goal of that
run came 10 minutes after her first as Penn slowed things down to
work the clock in its advantage.
Emily Szelest had five saves on 10 shots on goal in the win for the
Quakers. Four different players - DeLuca, Maddie Poplawski, Emma
Spiro and Carolyn Pollard - had two draw controls. Poplawski had
three ground balls while four players had two. In all, 12 of the 15
Penn players to see time in the game had at least one ground
ball.
The Quakers have a chance to clinch their fourth-straight outright
Ivy League championship on Sunday against Brown at 1 p.m. on Senior
Day at Franklin Field.
