PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's soccer team suffered a difficult 1-0 loss to Yale at Rhodes Field on Saturday.

The Bulldogs' controversial goal in the 73rd minute was the difference and Penn was unable to rebound to find a goal of their own.

NOTES
*Penn drops to 1-5 this season when conceding the game's first goal.

*The loss is the Quakers' first to Yale since 2009.

*This season, Penn dropped to 0-3-1 when tied at the halftime break.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Sizzy Lawton, who was introduced as a starter on the wing, immediately made her presence known, pouncing on a loose ball in the attacking third and angling a pass back to Emily Sands at the top of the box. Sands' shot was blocked and redirected for a corner. On the ensuing corner, the ball bounced out to Katharine Larson, who took a shot, but her attempt was turned away.

In the 16th minute, Lawton continued her prowl on the right wing. She took a pass, then tic-tac'd around one defender and whipped a ball into the box toward Sands. The senior stretched her left leg onto the ball but just pushed it wide.

Overall, much of the first 45 minutes were spent inside the middle third as neither team generated golden chances outside of the two quality opportunities Penn built in the first quarter-hour. At the break, though, the Quakers did outshoot the Bulldogs 5-1.

To open the second half, Yale created its best chance of this first 50 minutes. A through ball in the 47th minute forced Kitty Qu into action, but she was quick off her line and eliminated the danger.

Just a minute later, Sands made Yale's keeper Alyssa Fagel stop a shot and then off a free kick, Laura Hamilton served a dangerous ball into the mixer. Breukelen Woodard won the first header, then Fagel punched the second ball away. It only dropped as far as Woodard, who quickly took a left-footed shot, but it was blocked by another Bulldog defender.

Around the hour mark Abbey Duncan began to really impact the game. She made two darting runs in succession with dangerous balls to cap them. In just a few minutes, Penn unleashed a flurry of shots, but the Bulldog defenders seemed to always find themselves in front of the ball.

Just as Penn began to assert itself and gain a real foothold in the match, Yale's Emily Yin scored a controversial against-the-run-of-play goal for the Bulldogs in the 73rd minute.

Over the final 15 minutes, the Quakers pushed onward but couldn't manage a leveler.

UP NEXT
Penn travels to first-place Brown next weekend.

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