PHILADELPHIA – For the first time since 2010, the University of Pennsylvania women's soccer team is Ivy League Champions! With a 2-0 win over Brown on Sunday afternoon at Rhodes Field, the Quakers clinched a share of the league title. They can secure sole possession of the trophy – and the NCAA Tournament automatic qualifier – with a win or draw against Princeton next Saturday, November 3.
On Senior Day, the second-half goals came from Sasha Stephens – on an assist from fellow senior Allie Trzaska – and freshman Mia Shenk as the six soon-to-be-graduates went out in style in their final regular-season home game.
NOTES
*Penn clinches at least a share of the Ivy League championship for the first time since 2010.
*Penn becomes the first team since 2008 to win the Ivy League without winning its league opener.
*Harvard and Princeton -- which can earn a share of the title with a win over Penn next Saturday -- have combined for seven titles since the last time someone else won the championship.
*Kitty Qu recorded her 19th career solo shutout, extending her program record.
*Penn notched its 12th clean sheet of the season, just one off the program record.
*The Quakers beat Brown for the first time since 2014, also a 2-0 win at Rhodes Field. It's the program's first win against Brown under fourth-year head coach Nicole Van Dyke.
*Penn improved upon its best record in program history, moving to 13-1-1 with the win.
*5-0-1 is Penn's best record through six Ivy League games.
*On Senior Day, Allie Trzaska found Sasha Stephens for what proved to be the winning goal, ultimately securing a share of the league title.
*Trzaska moved into a tie for seventh all-time for most assists recorded in a season (7).
*Mia Shenk capped the performance with the first goal of her career.
*The fewest goals conceded in a season in program history is seven. Penn has allowed just four with one regular season game remaining.
*Penn is just one goal away from matching the most scored in a season under Van Dyke.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The pre-game Senior Day ceremonies were celebratory and emotional, as the team honored its six seniors and their careers, but Penn immediately locked in to the contest once the whistle blew. The Quakers earned the first chance in just the second minute. After a bit of a scrum in the box, the ball squirted out to Allie Trzaska – one of the six who were honored pre-game – and she took a shot, but it was pushed away by the Brown keeper.
Ultimately, Penn earned five corners and six shots in the opening quarter-hour, with the best coming to Trzaska. Another senior, Sasha Stephens, whipped in a dangerous corner that Trzaska rose up to win, but that was saved off the line.
Stephens was the cause of many of the problems that the Brown defense faced. Routinely, she would get a defender on her hip and drive to the end line before getting something out of her cross. She became a steady outlet for the midfielders, and her speed and skill were too much for the Bears early on.
It felt like the Quakers were going to find one in the opening 45, but around the half-hour mark, Brown managed to match Penn's intensity and keep the Quakers at bay.
In eight games this year – with Sunday marking the ninth – Penn entered the halftime break deadlocked at 0-0. In those games, the Quakers went on to win seven of them, with the eighth ending in a scoreless draw against Harvard. So, it goes without saying that the Red and Blue are pretty used to pushing for second-half winners, and they usually come pretty early.
In the second half, you could feel it coming. Emily Sands beat two defenders on the left side of the box, made her way to the end line and gently sent it across the face of goal. Fortunately for the Bears, a few Quakers just couldn't reach it before it continued rolling away from net. Another chance came when Breukelen Woodard slipped Sands in behind and the junior side-stepped the goalie, but her touch was too heavy for her to retrieve inbounds.
As the saying goes, big-time players make big-time plays. Enter Stephens and Trzaska.
In the 52nd minute, Trzaska got the ball in the middle of the pitch, opened her hips and switched the field to Stephens on the right wing. The ball became a 50/50 contest between Stephens and the Bears keeper Christine Etzel, who made five saves on the afternoon. As the two came together the ball bounced away from Etzel, Stephens took a touch to steady herself, then pounded it past a defender who stood on the goal line for the go-ahead goal.
The goal was the 13th time this year that Penn took a 1-0 advantage. In the previous 12, the Quakers allowed just two equalizers, and won every game.
Penn remained in control, but not without a few scares. Brown was extremely dangerous on set pieces and on long throw-ins. The Bears were tough when they could send numbers forward, get the ball in the box and scrap and claw for an opportunity on net. Each time, though, someone in the Red and Blue stepped up. Another senior, Camillia Nwokedi, and Chase Geffert, along with midfielders Megan Lloyd and Trzaska were huge in the air, repeatedly winning headers, and Kitty Qu put together a masterpiece in net. Qu registered just two saves, but on countless occasions was off her line to punch away a ball or snatch a cross.
With a one-goal lead, the tension grew as each minute passed. Just one chance could erase the advantage, but in the 77th minute, that tension was alleviated, thanks to a freshman's first career goal. Mia Shenk has shown promise throughout her rookie season and picked a delightful time to jump on to the score sheet.
Paige Howard worked herself free down in the right corner and managed to get off a cross while sliding and Shenk did the rest. The freshman made a near-post run, cutting across the face of Brown's center back, and flicked her shot goalward. It glided over Etzel's outstretched hand, clipped the underside of the crossbar and found the back of the net, doubling Penn's lead.
The celebration was on as the Quakers moved to 13-1-1 overall and 5-0-1 in Ivy League play, clinching at least a share of the title. Sole possession of the championship – and the all-important NCAA Tournament automatic qualifier – is up for grabs next weekend, at Princeton. A Penn win or tie will give the Quakers the championship outright and the accompanying NCAA bid, while a Princeton win will leave the Tigers and Quakers tied for the title but give Princeton the NCAA bid by virtue of winning the head-to-head meeting.
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