PHILADELPHIA – Back to Rhodes.
Looking to rebound from a tough road trip to Cambridge, Mass. last weekend, the University of Pennsylvania women's soccer team returns to Rhodes Field to host Cornell on Saturday, Oct. 5. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
Penn opened its Ivy League campaign last weekend with a tough 1-0 defeat to Harvard, its first loss to the Crimson – who always present a difficult opener – in three seasons. The Quakers and Princeton, the defending league champions, both suffered losses in the opening week after the Tigers lost to Yale.
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 9 – Penn (5-3-1, 0-1 Ivy League) vs. Cornell (4-3-1, 0-1 Ivy League)
Saturday, Oct. 5 | 2 p.m. | Rhodes Field | Live Stats | Watch on ESPN+
Series Information
Penn leads 18-7-3 | Last meeting: 2018, Penn 2-0
The Quakers actually began the all-time series with six consecutive losses to the Big Red. Since 1997, however, Penn is 18-1-3 against Cornell with the only loss coming in 2014. The last four matches have ended with a pair of Penn wins and two scoreless, 110-minute draws. In the two wins over the most recent four games, Penn outscored Cornell 7-0, including a 2-0 triumph on the road in 2018. Emily Sands and Allie Trzaska scored for the Quakers, while Emma Loving and Jadyn Wilensky added assists in the one-sided affair.
Zipped Up
After conceding once at Harvard last weekend, Penn increased its streak to 28 consecutive Ivy League games without allowing more than a goal.
The Sandstorm
Emily Sands, who began this season inside the TopDrawerSoccer's Preseason Top 100 and finished with seven game-winning goals in 2018, leads the Red and Blue with 12 points with four goals and four assists. Sands erupted with three goals and an assist in one unbeaten weekend as Penn scored wins over Bucknell on the road and then Loyola at Rhodes Field. The senior forward now has goals in three games – all wins – and at least a point in six matches.
Kat's Come Up
Katharine Larson has spent time on the wing and as an outside back during her career and scored for the first time against Hofstra earlier this season. She drew a foul in the penalty area and proceeded to put away her spot kick to cut the deficit in half. Two days later, Larson scored the second goal in her career to ignite a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Temple.
Loving Showing the Love
Always a danger to opponent's defenses, Emma Loving has broken through this season as a distributor. Coming into her senior year, Loving accounted for two assists. Halfway through this season, she's racked up three more, in addition to a game-winning wonder strike to beat Temple 2-1 last Sunday.
Breukelen's Breakthrough
At the midway point of the year, Breukelen Woodard has almost doubled her scoring production from an injury-riddled 2018. Woodard has three goals and an assist – good for second-most points in the team – and racked up all seven points in a four-game stretch.
Freshmen Phenoms
Center back Peyton Raun has played the most minutes of any Quaker this season while Sara Readinger, another freshman, has logged 688 minutes – the fourth-most of any field player. Together, they help sure up the middle of the field and have been extremely important to the always-strong Penn defense.
Allie's Assists
Sophomore Allie Schachter missed the entirety of her freshman season in 2018, but with a two-assist performance in a come-from-behind victory over Temple, she impacted the team in a variety of positive ways. Her distribution, energy and knack for clogging the passing lanes helped elevate Penn's play in the second half. Following that performance, Schachter made her first career start at Harvard.
Cracking Down On Cornell
Cornell opened the season by ripping off four wins, taking down Iona, Siena, Bucknell and St. Bonaventure, but have since cooled off. In the last four games, the Big Red is 0-3-1 with a 2-0 loss to Columbia kickstarting Ivy play. In 2018, Cornell was 1-13 and winless during league action.
#FightOnPenn
