PHILADELPHIA – In a season that repeatedly re-wrote the record books, the University of Pennsylvania women's soccer team matched a program record by placing three players on the All-Ivy League first team, including Defensive Player of the Year Camillia Nwokedi, and, in total, six Quakers garnered All-Ivy distinction, the most since 2011.
Nwokedi, keeper Kitty Qu and Emily Sands were named to the first team, Allie Trzaska became a four-time All-Ivy pick with her inclusion on the second team and Sasha Stephens and Megan Lloyd garnered honorable mention honors.
A focal point and large component of Penn's success this season was its ability to batten down the hatches and eliminate opposing teams' scoring chances. In 16 games, Penn allowed just five goals – the fewest in program history – and concluded the regular season leading the country in goals-against average (0.304), save percentage (0.924) and tied for the best shutout percentage (0.750). Nwokedi was an integral part to that success, anchoring the defense from center back, starting in 15 games. She becomes just the second Quaker to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors and the first since Caroline Dwyer won the award in its first year in 2013.
Another member of that stout defensive unit was Qu, who receives a first-team All-Ivy nod for the second straight season. The junior keeper logged 1,280 minutes, allowing just five goals with a .912 save percentage and 0.35 GAA, nine solo shutouts and two additional combined with another keeper. She now holds the program record for career solo shutouts (19) and set single-season records for save percentage and goals-against average. Nationally, Qu was second in the country in GAA and fourth in save percentage between the pipes.
In addition to Penn's stranglehold on teams defensively, the Quakers scored 30 goals on the season – tied for ninth-most in program history – with eight from Sands, the third Penn player on the first team. Sands finished with a team-high 18 points, adding two assists to her eight goals. Most impressive was her ability to come through when it mattered most; the Sandstorm tucked away seven game winners, the most in the Ivy League and tied for the third-most in the country. In Ivy play, she was especially impactful, scoring the match winners against Cornell, Columbia and Yale – she put away two against the Bulldogs in New Haven, Conn. – sandwiching a walk-off winner at Lehigh with 52 seconds left in the second overtime. Sands was Ivy League Player of the Week twice.
Trzaska finishes her Quaker career with All-Ivy honors all four seasons, becoming the seventh player to do that in the Red and Blue. Her inclusion on the second team is her second in as many seasons. In addition to being a scrappy cog in the middle of the field, frequently disrupting other teams' momentum, Trzaska finished with a goal and team-high seven assists. Her seven assists ranked second in the Ivy League and tied for seventh all-time in a single season at Penn.
One of Trzaska's midfield partners, Lloyd garnered All-Ivy distinction for the first time. The honorable mention pick scored once – and it was an important goal – at Dartmouth in game-winning fashion to help preserve an undefeated Ivy record. She also assisted on Sands' first goal at Yale. Joining Lloyd as an honorable mention is Stephens, also her first All-Ivy nod. An early-season Ivy Player of the Week pick, Stephens scored four goals, including the game winner against Brown on Senior Day, clinching a share of the Ivy League championship for the Quakers. The senior finished with four goals and an assist, one of four Penn players to finish with nine points.
Penn wrapped up the season at 13-2-1 and 5-1-1 in Ivy competition, with the only losses coming to ranked opponents – North Carolina State and at Princeton – and with a share of the Ivy title. The Quakers only trailed twice all season, went 7-1 away from Rhodes Field and with 13 wins, the second-highest total in a year. Additionally, Penn's two losses are the second-fewest ever, and its 12-game unbeaten streak matched the longest all-time.
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