PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania field hockey team got punched early by visiting Yale on Saturday afternoon, but the Quakers recovered and used a pair of fourth-quarter goals to break a tie and gain a 4-2 win over the Bulldogs at Ellen Vagelos Field.
With the win, Penn improved to 6-8 overall and 3-2 in Ivy League play. Yale fell to 4-10 overall and 1-4 in Ivy play with the loss.
NOTES
*
Laura Shelton scored her first-career goal to give Penn a 3-2 lead. The senior weaved through defenders and slipped a hard shot past the Bulldogs' keeper.
*Elita van Staden converted a pair of penalty strokes today. She now leads the Quakers with seven goals and 14 points and has scored five times in Penn's last four games.
*Van Staden prevented a late Yale goal with a defensive save late in the fourth quarter. It is the first defensive save of her career.
*
Lily Clarkson scored her first collegiate goal to tie the game at 1-1, tapping in a pass from
Madison Jiranek. The goal gives Clarkson her first points for Penn.
*The Quakers outshot Yale 17-7. The Quakers now rank second in the Ivy League with 207 shots.
*Penn earned 11 penalty corners today. Prior to today's game, the Quakers ranked sixth in the nation with 7.69 corners per game.
*The Quakers have been on target in Ivy League play, scoring 20 goals in five games.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was the Bulldogs who struck first on Saturday needing just 67 seconds to get on the board as Alissa Wong beat Penn goalie
Ava Rosati to a loose ball about 12 yards out and pushed a shot past the onrushing keeper. It was Wong's first goal of the season.
Penn settled down and drew level before the end of the first quarter. Off a short corner, a Penn shot was saved but the rebound went to Jiranek in front of Yale goalie Sydney Terroso. Jiranek calmly pushed the ball past Terroso to Clarkson, who converted into the open net for her first of the season. The score stayed at 1-1 through the remainder of the half.
The Quakers got their first lead with 4:13 left in the third quarter when a penalty stroke was called on a Yale foul. Van Staden stepped up and rifled a shot past Yale goalkeeper Terroso's left side for a 2-1 Penn lead. Not even two minutes, later, however, the Bulldogs tied things up on a short corner as Lena Ansari stood in front of the goal and re-directed a pass from Olivia Levieux for the score. The score was still 2-2 entering the fourth quarter.
Enter Shelton. With 8:58 left in the game she got control of the ball about 25 yards out, dribbled through a series of Yale defenders, and then pushed a shot past Terroso's right side and just inside the post. It was the senior's first collegiate goal and it gave Penn a 3-2 lead.
Penn doubled its lead when a Yale foul in front of the goal gave the Quakers a second penalty stroke. Van Staden again stepped up and again went to Terroso's left, putting it out of the goalie's reach for the 4-2 lead. That's how it stayed.
UP NEXT
Penn is right back at it tomorrow afternoon, hosting Patriot League leader Lafayette on Ellen Vagelos Field at 2 p.m.
#FinishTheJob
#FightOnPenn
