W. Soccer settles for draw with Bison

Yesterday, the Penn women's soccer team came out looking for a good result, as Bucknell was their only home fixture in their first seven contests. Penn's all-time record versus the Bison now stands at 1-2-3 after yesterday's 2-2 draw. Dazed and basking in the glory of their first home game of the season, the Quakers (1-3-1) could almost be excused for suffering a slight lack of concentration before settling down into their game -- almost. After a shaky and erratic start, the fired up Bison (4-2-1) began to stampede into the Quaker half. With a touch of invention and drive, Bucknell's Sarah Stopper (who incidentally plays stopper) pushed the ball through midfield near the penalty box. As the docile Penn defense stood off her and watched, Stopper chanced a loping 30-yard strike from a left angle across the goal to the right. Amy Jodoin, covering the close angle, frantically rushed across the open goalmouth. However, standing at 5-foot-3, she had little chance of saving the shot as it slowly dipped below the crossbar into the right corner of the net. It only took until the 15th minute, when Amy Riviere found space near the 6-yard box and unleashed a high, powerful shot though Jodoin's outstreched hands to put the Quakers well and truly behind. Meanwhile, on the sidelines and up 2-0, Bucknell coach Toby Lovecchio was far from confident. "We're always strong in the first 15 minutes of the game. But we've conceded 5 of our 7 goals so far in the second half. When we went up 2-0, I knew it wouldn't stay that way." The inevitable breakthrough came in the 35th minute after a hard foul on Darah Ross by Bison Katie McElligott. Taking the direct kick, Jacky Flood drilled a shot to the right of the Bison defensive wall, deflecting off one of them into the goal, leaving keeper Becky Snover completely flatfooted by the blistering pace of the shot. In the 60th minute, Ross flicked a ball into open space, and a foot race ensued between Morita and Snover. "When I saw the flick, I knew I had to go," Morita said. "When I got closer, I saw it was playable and thought to myself, 'I've got to go get that ball!' " Morita, getting to the ball first, slammed a shot off the keeper, which wandered into the front of the open goal. Immediately after the shot, Bison defender Chris Ringwood collided with Snover, freeing Morita to tuck away the errant deflection, tying the game at two, which held up through overtime.