W. Soccer blanks Lehigh

Led by midfielder Anne Davies,Led by midfielder Anne Davies,Penn recorded its secondLed by midfielder Anne Davies,Penn recorded its secondshutout of the season, defeatingLed by midfielder Anne Davies,Penn recorded its secondshutout of the season, defeatingthe Mountain Hawks, 3-0 The Penn women's soccer team kept rolling along yesterday afternoon as it had little trouble in disposing of Lehigh by the score of 3-0. The Quakers (4-6-2) recorded their second shutout of the season while extending their streak without a loss to three games, going 2-0-1 in that span. The first half was characterized by sluggish but dominant play for the Quakers as the Mountain Hawks (3-11) were unable to capitalize on the few chances given to them by Penn's seasoned defense. Baker felt that the Quakers' early loss of focus was due to having played their last match six days ago because of the rain cancellation of the match against Cornell this past Friday. Both teams took little initiative in controlling the possession of the ball. Penn junior forward Darah Ross changed that by converting a breakaway into Penn's first goal of the game 40 minutes into the first half. That was the only fuel the Quakers would need. "Darah's goal kind of settled us down a little bit," Baker said. "The second half, it was all on their half [of the field]. It was just a matter of time before we're going to get another." Mysteriously, the field in the second half seemed half its normal size as Penn was able to effectively centralize the ball around the Mountain Hawks' net. The midfield, led by the strong play of Anne Davies, was able to key the offense, which resulted in two second-half goals. The first came off the foot of sophomore forward Kelly Stevens with the assist by freshman forward Jill Callaghan, who later added her first goal of the season with the assist from Davies. "Anne Davies had a great game at central mid -- she had a phenomenal game," Baker said. "She's been a warrior the last couple of games." The Quakers, for the first time this season, consistently kept possession and moved the ball around while penetrating and taking advantage of their opportunities. The flood of offense characterized by the Quakers was exemplified by this statistic: they outshot Lehigh, 22-3. Key to the Quakers' success was the continued consistency of Davies. Playing center midfielder, Davies knocked the ball through the Mountain Hawk line giving the offense the opportunities it needed. However, the real key to the game was the overall improvement of the offense. By working on finishing in front of the goal in practice, the offense hit home with three decisive goals. Baker feels that the addition of the Callaghan twins, Andrea and Jill, and the change in his tactics of playing a 4-4-2 lineup are the two ingredients, as shown in yesterday's game, that will allow Penn to make a run at the end of the season after its slow start. With four of their last five games being against Ivy League opponents, the Quakers have plenty of chances to better their previous best -- a 1-5-1 Ivy League mark recorded last season. However, it will be up to the motivation of the team and its leadership to make a dominant run.

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