Penn women soccer's defense holds court

Welcome to Penn women’s soccer. The first rule is to play offense when you have the ball, and play defense when you don’t.

This is one of coach Darren Ambrose’s cardinal rules, and so far this season, it has lead to a 4-0 record with four shutouts.

“The core of our defensive unit is every player on the team,” Ambrose said. “Of course our back four have done a superb job, but they know just like every other defender, midfielder and offender that offense is defense and that defense is offense. The only thing that changes is possession of the ball.”

The aforementioned ‘back four’ are seniors Adrienne Lerner and Colleen Barry and juniors Erin Thayer and Alex Dayneka. All four are well-versed in Ambrose’s comprehensive defensive strategy.

“The back line has been solid and connected,” Lerner said. “But defense starts with the forwards and middies, and we wouldn’t have had our success without that.”

Success is an understatement. Not only have the Quakers managed to shut out all of their opponents thus far, they have also severely limited their foes’ shooting opportunities. On average, the Red and Blue have taken 13.2 shots per game, while their opponents have been limited to 8.8.

The precedent for this offensive mindset was set in the first game against UMBC on Sept. 2, when the Quakers outshot the Retrievers, 16-4. The only team to outshoot Penn was Villanova, but only by a margin of four.

However, both coaches and players realize that this weekend brings a huge challenge as the Red and Blue embark on their first road trip of the season. They travel to Virginia to play James Madison Friday and George Mason Sunday.

Although Ambrose maintains that he does not begin to think about a game until just before it occurs, he did acknowledge the physicality of the James Madison squad.

“They play like St. Joe’s,” he said. “We’re going to have to be prepared to compete for balls and keep them in front of us. They’re a team that’s known for anticipating — our girls are going to have to be the first to get to a ball that drops.”

Barry also found similarities between the Dukes and St. Joe’s.
“The teams we’ve played so far have been pretty scrappy,” she said. “I think we’ll be ready to take JMU on, as long as we play our game and don’t succumb to their level of aggression.”

Although Penn’s overall record is stronger than the Dukes’ (4-2-2), James Madison is coming off a tie with No. 3 Maryland and boasts an offense that has nine total players with at least one goal on the season. Penn has not won in three previous contests with the Dukes.
Penn has been more successful against George Mason (1-4-2), winning four of the seven times the two teams have met.

The players likewise felt the best strategy was to shift the focus inward.

“This will definitely be a test for us,” Barry said. “But we’ve been preparing all week, and if we focus on the little things and play our game, I know we can be competitive.”

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