PHILADELPHIA – After picking up a draw in the Ivy League opener, the University of Pennsylvania women's soccer team heads to Ithaca, N.Y. on Saturday looking for the maximum three points against Cornell.
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MATCH DAY 9 – Penn (6-1-1, 0-0-1 Ivy League) vs. Cornell (1-6-1, 0-1 Ivy League)
Saturday, September 29 | 4 p.m. | Ithaca, N.Y. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Series Information
Records: Penn leads 17-7-3 | Last meeting: 2017 (Tied, 0-0 2OT)
Cornell opened the series with six consecutive wins from 1991-96, but Penn has since dominated the meetings with the Big Red, losing just once in the last 21 years. The Quakers went undefeated from 1997 to 2013 before falling 3-2 on the road in 2014. In recent memory, the rivalry has been pretty even as the two have split a pair and played to two draws in the last four years. Penn did manage to put five goals on Cornell in that victory, a 5-0 win on the road in 2016. Of the players still around from that lopsided win, Allie Trzaska and Emma Loving scored while Sasha Stephens and Emily Sands earned assists.
Shutout City
With last week's 0-0 draw against Harvard in the Ivy League opener, Penn now has walked off the pitch six times without allowing its opponent to score. Its shutout percentage of .750 (six of eight games) is tied for sixth in the country, and its three goals allowed ranks tied for seventh nationally. Within the Ivy League, the three goals allowed tops the league; Princeton, who sits second in the league, has doubled that total, conceding six goals thus far. Also worth noting, the Quakers conceded just a single goal in the run of play coming at the hands of NC State; both Navy goals came off free kicks. Penn hasn't allowed a goal in 290 minutes.
Qu's Quest for History
Junior keeper Kitty Qu added another clean sheet to her name – the fifth solo shutout of the season and the 15th of her career – in a 110-minute draw to Harvard. Her 15 career solo shutouts are the most in program history. Qu has now recorded five solo shutouts in each of the three seasons during her career. Nationally, Qu is tied for 13th in goals-against average and 14th in save percentage (.897). If the season ended today, she would rank second all-time in save percentage in a single season, trailing Vanessa Scotto (2001) by just a fraction (.898). Currently, Qu is already second in that category having finished with a save percentage of .890 last year.
High Tide Lifts All Quakers
A huge reason for Penn's success is the balance on the stat sheet; through eight games, 11 Quakers have recorded a point and seven have scored. In turn, with so many different players getting into the action, the goals keep pouring in. Penn's 1.875 scoring average is tops in the Ivy League and its 1.75 assists per game also leads the league. In comparison, Penn finished 2017 with 10 players recording a point.
League Leaders
Trzaska continues to lead the Ivy League in assists … Her five assists are now matched by Yale's Noelle Higginson, but the senior Quaker still holds the edge in assists per game (.625) having played two fewer games … Trzaska is tied for 18th in the country in assists per game … Sands is second in the league in game-winning goals (four) trailing on Princeton's Mimi Asom (five) … Stephens is tied for third with two … Kelsey Andrews – Penn's leader in goals and assists – is tied for third in goals (four) and tied for fourth in points (nine) … Sands and Stephens are both tied for seventh in goals (three), giving Penn three of the top-10 goal scorers, more than any other team.
6-1-1 Start… Since When?
After drawing with Harvard, Penn now matches the 1998 edition of the Quakers for the best start in school history. With a win on Saturday, the Red and Blue would move to 7-1-1, a new best.
Previewing the Big Red
Cornell will host Penn at 1-6-1 and 0-1 in Ivy League play, but that seems a bit misleading. Four of its six losses have come by just a single goal, including a 2-1 loss to Columbia to begin league play last week. The Big Red have needed overtime three times, going 1-1-1, also including that loss to the Lions.
#FightOnPenn
