American escapes Rhodes Field with victory

Despite outplaying the EaglesDespite outplaying the Eaglesthe Quakers suffer its sixthDespite outplaying the Eaglesthe Quakers suffer its sixthdefeat of the season No rain, no mud and no luck were the common themes for the Penn women's soccer team yesterday, as American escaped Rhodes Field with a 3-1 victory. As American was well within the Quakers' reach (having beaten them last year 1-0 in Washington D.C.), it looked certain that the winds were blowing in Penn's favor. The match began with a flurry as the Red and Blue (2-6-1) immediately dictated the flow of the game, with forward Darah Ross forcing early saves out of Eagles keeper Lisa Gervase. Penn's industrious midfield maintained possession and generated ball after ball for the opportunist Kelly Stevens and raiding Ross. What American (8-3-1) did manage to move into the opposing half was quickly squelched by the staid co-captains Jill Brown and Heather Herson on defense. The team Baker envisioned all along for this season had come to fruition, and it seemed only a matter of time before one of his Quakers broke through. As fate would have it, however, the unlikely Eagles struck first. In what appeared to be a brief few moments of possession for American in the Quakers half, Jacky Flood quickly closed down the attack and had won the ball when the referee stopped play in the 14th minute. Flood was charged with a foul for her challenge on the opposing player and conceded a direct kick, albeit from nearly 30 yards out off the left side of the penalty box. From what seemed a difficult angle at a long distance, American senior forward Julia Pike took a high, lofted shot across the penalty box that slipped in under the crossbar -- reminiscent of Bucknell forward Sarah Stopper's goal against the Quakers two weeks ago. Despite the "fluke" goal, the Quakers picked themselves back up and continued to dictate the majority of play. American added another goal before halftime, giving the Eagles a 2-0 advantage at the half. American scored again in the 72nd minute on a Lindsay Wynn goal. Penn had its sole goal of the game in the 84th minute when freshman Andrea Callaghan scored her second goal of the season. But it was too little too late, giving Penn a very unlucky loss.