W. Soccer eliminated from race

Penn's Ivy League title hopes were shattered by a 4-3 loss. On a normal day, three goals would easily win a soccer match. But on Saturday in New Haven, Conn., that was not enough for the Penn women's soccer team to best Yale. Coupled with a 1-0 Harvard win at Dartmouth, the loss ended Penn's Ivy League title hopes. "It's heartbreaking," Quakers forward Jill Callaghan said. "We really felt we could beat Harvard and worked hard all year to win the Ivy title." The game was a tale of two halves. However, unlike last week's win at Delaware, Saturday's rain and wind were not the primary factors behind the teams' taking turns setting the tone. "[Yale] basically just dominated the first half," said Quakers forward Kelly Stevens, who thought the Elis were working harder. "Their uniforms were filthy by the end of the half." "They came out ready to play well in the first half, and we didn't," forward Jill Callaghan said. Yale went to work early, scoring off a corner kick by forward Blanca Fromm put home by forward Devon Linex in the fifth minute. The Elis' next goal was almost a carbon copy. Forward Jennifer Wideberg finished a set play off a corner kick from Fromm and forward Theryn Gibbons in the 25th minute. Yale was not done, continuing the barrage by adding yet another goal by the end of the first half, courtesy of midfielder Annie Kwon, assisted again by Fromm. "They thought the game was won," Stevens said. "Our uniforms weren't as dirty as theirs, and we knew we had to work harder and play tougher in order to win." Penn did not fold. In the second half, Jill Callaghan made her presence known off the bench, coming in to assist on sister Andrea Callaghan's team-leading seventh goal of the season, a rebound from a Penn counterattack in the 57th minute. Jill Callaghan was not finished yet. She swept down from the left side of the field to add an unassisted goal in the 73rd minute to bring Penn within a goal at 3-2. In the midst of their rally, the Quakers were beaten on another Elis set play. Once again, Fromm hooked up with Kwon in the 75th minute from another corner kick. Yale finished with eight corners, scoring on almost half of those opportunities. Still not willing to call it a day, Penn attempted yet another comeback. Jill Callaghan scored her second goal of the afternoon and sixth of the season off a feed from Stevens, bringing Penn within one with 12 minutes to go. There were many last gasps for the Quakers in those final minutes. "We never gave up," Stevens said. "We had tons of chances to tie it." Playing from behind all day proved to be too much for Penn to overcome as the final whistle sounded on Yale's 4-3 victory. Quakers goalkeeper Amy Jodoin, making her first Ivy League start of the season in relief of injured Anne Kluetmeier, ended the day with 10 saves on 14 shots, the vast majority of which came in the first half. On the flip side, Penn gave Elis goalkeeper Catherine Haist lots of work, firing 18 shots on goal, 13 in the second half. Despite winning the second half battle on goals and shots, the Quakers (10-5, 4-2) committed a whopping 15 fouls in the second half, for a total of 22 fouls on the day, including two cautions received by Andrea Callaghan and Kelli Toland. Yale (10-5-1, 4-2) performed in similar fashion, committing 10 of its 17 fouls in building a 3-0 lead in first half. Penn looks to keep its six-game home undefeated streak of alive this week, starting with Monmouth tomorrow and culminating the season with Princeton this weekend. The prospect of finishing undefeated at Rhodes Field, along with this year overall, is something not many people expected out of the Red and Blue. "There was such a difference between this year and last year," Callaghan said. "We expected ourselves to do well, but not everyone else did. "We knew we'd do well, and this year is just the beginning."