HANOVER, N.H. – Megan Lloyd buried her first career goal to propel the University of Pennsylvania women's soccer team to its 10th win of the season, defeating Dartmouth 1-0 on the road on Saturday afternoon to stay undefeated in Ivy League competition.
The Quakers and the Big Green entered the contest as two of the three remaining unbeaten teams in the league. It was the second straight weekend Penn knocked off a fellow undefeated team.
NOTES
*In 12 games, Penn has secured a remarkable 10 clean sheets, just three off the program record.
*Kitty Qu now has 18 career solo shutouts, the most in program history.
*The win is Penn's first victory in Hanover, N.H. since 2-1 win in 2002.
*The Quakers are undefeated in their last nine games.
*Penn hasn't allowed a goal since September 9, over 669 minutes of shutout soccer.
*For the second weekend in a row, the Red and Blue have knocked off a fellow unbeaten team in Ivy League play.
*Penn's 10-1-1 start is the best in program history.
*Megan Lloyd's goal is the first of her career. She entered the afternoon with two career points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The monstrous Ivy League matchup started as you'd might think: defensive. Both teams were looking to feel each other out early, and Penn entered as the top team in the country in shutout percentage, so it became an early battle of defenses. The Quakers' first chance came in the sixth minute when reigning Ivy League Player of the Week Emily Sands lined up for a free kick about 30 yards out. From the free kick, Allie Trzaska eventually got a shot off, but was saved by the Big Green keeper.
In the 13th minute, Penn earned its second chance when Sands spun a defender, creating a little space for a shot, but she pulled it wide to the near side. Thirteen minutes later, Sasha Stephens whipped in a corner kick that bounced around in the mixer before Trzaska gained possession and took a shot, but that also went wide.
Trzaska was a difference maker throughout the opening 45, after turning a defender in the 31st minute and she came tearing down the center of the field between two defenders, drawing a foul and a free kick around 30 yards from goal. Camillia Nwokedi took it, but put it high.
Penn had to make some stops of the defensive end, too. On a Dartmouth corner, Stephens made a critical clearance to eliminate the scoring opportunity. Chase Geffert and Nwokedi both made important blocks on Big Green shots, continuing Penn's shutout streak through the first half.
For the sixth straight game, the Quakers entered the break deadlocked at 0-0.
One of the staples of this season for Penn has been its ability to turn up the intensity in the early stages of the second half. Saturday was no different. Just five minutes out of the break, Paige Howard slipped Mia Shenk in behind, who beat her defender and put a shot on target, but it was saved and pushed aside for a corner.
On that ensuing corner, Emma Loving played a ball in that found Megan Lloyd's head. Her header bounced and then found the top corner, propelling Penn to a 1-0 lead on the junior's first career goal.
After the goal, it was Dartmouth's turn to ratchet up the pressure. The Big Green peppered keeper Kitty Qu and the rest of the Penn defense, but they weathered the storm. Geffert, Nwokedi, Jadyn Wilensky and Laura Hamilton were fabulous in battening down the hatches, securing yet another clean sheet, the 10th in 12 games this season, en route to a 1-0 road win.
For the second weekend in a row, Penn knocked off an unbeaten Ivy League team, improving to 3-0-1 and 10-1-1 overall.
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