PHILADELPHIA – With three points under its belt, the University of Pennsylvania women's soccer team motors northeast to battle Columbia on Saturday evening in a critical league matchup of two teams yearning for upward mobility. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Penn picked up a 4-2 win in its last match, overcoming a second-half deficit to Cornell to move in to a four-way tie for third in the Ivy League – a group in which Columbia also resides.
Ivy League on ESPN
You will be able to find all Penn home women's soccer matches, as well as road Ivy matches, on ESPN+ this fall with the same high broadcast quality you used to get from the Ivy League Network. ESPN+ is a new, subscription-based service that offers monthly ($4.99) and yearly ($49.99) plans. Go to plus.espn.com to subscribe, or go to ivyleague.com to find more information.
MATCH DAY 10 – Penn (6-3-1, 1-1 Ivy League) at Columbia (7-3-1, 1-1 Ivy League)
Saturday, Oct. 12 | 5 p.m. | New York, N.Y. | Live Stats | Watch on ESPN3
Series Information
Penn leads 14-10-4 | Last meeting: Penn 1-0, 2018
The Quakers avenged two consecutive 1-0 overtime losses to the Lions by flipping the score line last season, downing Columbia 1-0 at Rhodes Field thanks to an Emily Sands game winner in the 51st minute. Before last season's victory, Penn hadn't triumphed over the Lions since racking up four straight shutout victories from 2011-2014.
Overcoming Adversity
In the second half of last weekend's win over Cornell, Penn trailed 2-1 after conceding a pair of goals in the first 2:29 via an own goal and penalty kick. With its back against the wall in, virtually, a must-win situation, Penn rebounded less than five minutes later, leveling the score at 2-2 on a goal from Breukelen Woodard, assisted by Sands and Laura Hamilton, her first career point.
Then, with the momentum back on their side, the Quakers scored twice in 41 seconds to take the lead and run away from the Big Red in a 4-2 triumph; the goals from Woodard – her second – and Mia Shenk marked the third-least amount of time between tallies in program history.
Ivy League Player Of The Week
On the heels of her two-goal performance, Breukelen Woodard was named Ivy League Player of the Week, spurring Penn with the game-tying and game-winning goals against Cornell. Woodard now leads the Red and Blue with five goals – tied for fourth-most in the Ivy League – and has one multi-goal game to her credit as a Quaker.
The Sandstorm
Penn's points leader, Emily Sands, notched another assist in the 4-2 win over Cornell, raising her season total to five, tied for the second-most in the league. That, paired with four goals, puts Sands' points total at 13, tied for fifth among all Ivy players.
Significant Sizzy
Freshman Sizzy Lawton scored the game's only first-half goal last Saturday against the Big Red, urging the Quakers ahead at the halftime break. The goal was her second of the season and then she whipped a delightful, left-footed pass into Mia Shenk's path for a tap-in goal to finish off the 4-2 win. Lawton now has five points during her rookie campaign, the most of any Penn freshman this year.
Ivy Standings
Through two match days, Brown and Harvard are the lone remaining unbeaten teams, sitting with six points each. Behind them, four teams are clustered at a win and a loss, totaling three points. Among that group that also includes Princeton and Yale is Penn and Columbia. This weekend should do plenty to shake things up with the Quakers and Lions taking each other on and Princeton traveling to Providence to play Brown. The Crimson ride to Ithaca to play Cornell.
Looking At The Lions
In Ancient Eight competition, the Lions opened with a 2-0 win over Cornell before losing by the same score to first-place Brown last weekend. Columbia and Penn share two non-conference opponents; both teams lost to Hofstra and both teams beat Bucknell, but the Lions needed overtime to find the winner against the Bison while the Quakers cruised to a 2-0 decision.
Columbia sports a balanced attack as nobody has more than three goals, but 10 players have combined to knock in its 18 goals.
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