Soccer programs suffer disappointing losses at Yale

Women flat in 3-1 loss to Elis Hopes were high as the Penn women's soccer team entered Saturday morning's match in New Haven, Conn., against Yale. Heads hung low as it left. The Quakers' five-game unbeaten streak came to a crashing halt as the Elis (8-7, 3-2 Ivy League) scored two second half goals to win 3-1. The game's opening gave Penn (8-5-2 overall, 1-4-1 Ivy League) no sign of things to come. In fact, the visitors pulled ahead in the fourth minute when their two leading scorers, Kelly Stevens and Darah Ross, combined on a goal. Ross played a ball from midfield through to the Quakers' freshman striker, who dribbled toward the goal and delivered her fourth goal of the season. Rather than spark Penn to a commanding performance, the opening tally served as a wake-up call to Yale. At the midpoint of the first half, Yale drew level at 1. The Elis' left wing crossed a ball into the Penn 18-yard box. Quakers goalkeeper Amy Urban came out, but the ball skipped on the wet surface and she could not corral it. Yale forward Molly Woodroofe gained possession and scored an easy goal. The game still seemed well within reach at halftime. "The ladies knew they hadn't played well [in the first half]," Penn coach Patrick Baker said. Nevertheless, the tied game gave the Quakers an opportunity to atone for their poor play in the second half. Penn could not take that opportunity. Just six minutes after the half had begun, Yale was on top. A frustration foul by Penn, one of 27 fouls committed in the match, granted Yale a free kick. The Elis' Jill Rubinstein gathered the loose ball and connected for a goal. The Quakers were not without chances to even the count. The best came when Stevens had a one-on-one scoring chance against Yale keeper Catherine Haist. She beat the keeper, but not the goal post, and her bid for a multiple-goal game failed. Penn continued to press forward, but a victory was not to be. A steal in the Quakers' defensive third led to Yale's, and the game's, last score. "We shot ourselves in the foot again," Baker said. Already trailing, the third Yale goal took any remaining wind out the visitors' sails. It also put a cap on one of the squad's most disappointing losses. "We felt like our best chances for W's [in the Ivy League] were Columbia, Yale and Princeton?.In all our games, except Harvard, we had made great strides from last year," the coach said. Matching last season's 3-1 loss to Yale is no longer acceptable for the new, winning Quakers. The Quakers just never got on track Saturday, offensively or defensively. "We gave them time and space with which to play with the ball," Baker said. Yale's advantage on the scoreboard is evenly matched in the statistics. The Elis doubled Penn in corner kicks, 8-4, and were on the right side of a wide 23-6 difference in shots on goal.