Defense gets Penn on winning track

The Penn women's soccer team rebounded from its 6-2 loss to Harvard this past weekend to hand American University its second consecutive loss yesterday at Reeves Field in Washington, D.C. The Quakers (5-4-1) defeated the Eagles 1-0 on a goal scored by freshman Katie Flood early in the first half. "We started off sluggish, coming off the tough loss to Harvard," Penn coach Patrick Baker said. After the 15-minute mark the Quakers started to create some scoring chances. Only 15:15 into the match Flood received a pass from sophomore Darah Ross and beat AU goalkeeper Lisa Gervase to the right side for what proved to be the game-winning score. The Quakers continued to pressure the Eagles defense throughout the first half. Penn had some quality scoring opportunities but failed to capitalize. "We had some great chances after the first 15 minutes. I felt as if the score could have been three or four to nothing," Baker said. The most notable chance came with less than a minute remaining in the first half. Ross missed a wide open net as her shot hit the post and rebounded out to Amaryllis Scabrooks, who shot wide of the open net. The Quakers came away empty-handed. If the Red and Blue had capitalized on this and several other shots in the first half they would have certainly put the Eagles (8-5-1) away for good. "Our problem was that any time we got the ball to the 18-yard line our offense fizzled," Baker said. Fortunately the Quakers' defense collectively shut down American's attack. Led by timely goalkeeping from freshman Amy Urban, the Quakers stifled AU's chances to climb back into the game. Sophomore American forward Danielle Pini collected the ball 18 yards out and fired on net, but the shot was stopped by Urban. The match came down to the familiar theme of finishing where it counts: in front of the net. Both the Quakers and the Eagles have been erratic in that department throughout the season. Today the Quakers were the ones who stepped forward and converted. The victory marks Penn's highest win total in the five-year history of the women's soccer program. The victory was even sweeter for the Quakers because it is their second road victory of the season, also the most in their short history. "Anytime you go on the road and win you'll take it", Baker said. The Quakers will definitely take it as they head home to prepare for Sunday's match with cross-town rival La Salle.