Penn junior Cara Calahan kept Penn's Ivy League hopes alive with an impressive offensive showcase Saturday against Dartmouth at Scully-Fahey Field. She scored two goals against the Big Green in a 3-2 overtime victory.
The Red and Blue (6-4, 2-1 Ivy) are on a hot streak, winning five of their last six games and all three of their overtime games this season.
However, the Quakers had more than just a win on their minds. By beating Dartmouth, Penn became the fourth team in the Ancient Eight to win an Ivy League best two games.
The Quakers are currently a half game behind first-place Harvard (6-3, 2-0).
"We [have] a chance for first in the Ivy League," Calahan said. "We took complete advantage of the situation."
Dartmouth (2-6, 2-1) came on strong early. Shala Byers put the Big Green on top 4:25 into the game with assists from teammates Allison Welsh and Lindsay Gossage.
Penn would strike back to even the score. Junior midfielder Kristen Gray assisted Calahan for her first goal of the game with 16:15 left in the first half.
Dartmouth reclaimed the lead when Audrey Knutson scored off a Jessica Saraceno pass, 25:22 into the game.
From that point on, Penn sophomore goalie Liz Schlossberg and the Penn defense did not allow another score.
Penn junior Lea Salese scurried her way to score an unassisted goal to keep Penn on pace with Dartmouth, 19:17 into the second half.
The game went into overtime -- the Quakers' third extra session this season. After a short defensive impasse, Calahan took advantage of a re-routed penalty corner pass from Gray to score the game-winning goal, 7:33 into the sudden-death period.
"I was just able to take advantage of the corner," Calahan said. "Kristen passed it to me and I was fortunately able to net the goal."
The game was fairly even in shots taken, with Penn having the slim 16 to 14 advantage. Penn had an overwhelming 15-5 edge in penalty corners, the last of which helped the Quakers to victory.
Dartmouth goalkeeper Lauren Balukjian made seven saves in the net, but allowed three goals. Schlossberg outmatched her counterpart, making eight saves. Both goalies went the full 77:33 of the game.
"Our goalie and defense were good," Calahan said. "In general our team really stepped it up. We're pretty excited about it."
PENN 1 1 1 -- 3Dartmouth 2 0 0 -- 2
Goals: 1. Byers (D) 4:25 (Welsh, Gossage); 2. Calahan (P) 18:45 (Gray); 3. Knutson (D) 25:22 (Saraceno); 4. Salese (P) 54:17 (Unassisted); 5. Calahan (P) 77:33 (Gray)
