Owls go scoreless against W. Soccer

The Quakers improved their record to a perfect 5-0 heading into the Ivy League schedule. Temple coach Seamus McWilliams left Rhodes Field yesterday muttering something in Portuguese about jogo bonito. Unfortunately for him, he was referring to his opposition's use of "the beautiful game" to dismantle his Owls. The Penn women's soccer team earned its fifth straight shutout this season in yesterday's 4-0 victory over Temple, keeping their undefeated record intact at 5-0. Penn sophomore Kellianne Toland started the Quakers attack midway through the first half when she scored on a pass from Ashely Kjar. Toland weaved through the seemingly stationary defenders and struck from the center of the field. "She scored our first goal against Drexel and then she got us going today," Penn coach Patrick Baker said. "She's been doing a great job. Last year she was a bit frustrated because she wasn't scoring and was doing a lot of other things. She's so active and she gets so many chances that it's nice to see her finding the back of the net." Penn's Andrea Callaghan hasn't had any trouble with the net's location. Several Quakers' passes up the sideline culminated in an assist from Emily Goldman to help Callaghan score from the middle with 20 minutes remaining in the first half. Her goal, which put the Quakers up 2-0, was her fourth of the season. Aside from a breakaway on their first possession, the Owls didn't pose much of a threat to Penn's defense. In fact, the one shot they managed to get in the first half was so far from the goal that it did not require saving. Penn, on the other hand, made Owls goal keeper Winsome Fritz work. The Quakers took 11 shots in the half, scoring twice and forcing three saves. Such offensive domination was hardly an aberration for the Quakers, who have outshot their opponents 99 to 25 so far this season. "Aside from the first 30 seconds, we established the rhythm and flow of the game," Baker said. "We did what we wanted to do and they had to make adjustments defensively against us." According to McWilliams, the Owls were prepared for Penn to set the tone. "Playing Penn is always a measuring stick for us," he said. "We have a lot of respect for what they've accomplished. It makes us want to go back and work harder." "Because of their record (5-1), they were expecting a good game," senior Kelly Stevens said. "But we showed them right off the bat that if they wanted to do well they'd have to play our kind of soccer -- not just booting the ball up the field like they're used to." Stevens can certainly speak knowledgeably about Penn's level of play this season. A captain of the team and a major offensive threat, the senior's five goals this season lead the Ivy League scoring list. Unfortunately, Stevens was sidelined for all but the first 10 minutes against Temple due to a strained hamstring. The forward is confident, though, that she will return to the lineup for Penn's Ivy League opener against Cornell this weekend. Another important factor in Penn's meeting with the Big Red will be the play of freshman Sabrina Fenton. Fenton's first collegiate goal came against Drexel and yesterday she helped build the Quakers' lead to 3-0 midway through the second half. According to Baker, her recent contributions have been a welcome addition to Penn's attack. "She's really coming along now," Baker said. "She had a slow start this season because she put a lot of pressure on herself to be this 'player' but now she's getting more comfortable playing within herself and and it's starting to show." Penn's Lindsay Carson also added a different look for the Quakers, scoring her first goal of the season to put Penn up 4-0 with 10 minutes remaining. Carson's goal, the Quakers' last of the afternoon, placed them slightly above their 3.5 goals per game average this season, a figure quite satisfying to Baker. "We're creating a lot of opportunities," he said. "Aside from our game against East Carolina, we're scoring four goals and giving up none. Plus, we're not allowing other teams to do what they want. Against Drexel we gave up one shot and today they had two." The Owls' second attempt was a penalty kick, issued when a mis-hit from the corner popped up and hit Toland in the hand. "They made the right call," Baker said of the penalty, "but it would have been a shame to break our streak of shut-outs with a cheesy goal like that. Fortunately, the young lady missed it." With 22 goals and zero against, the Quakers could survive even if they gave up a goal every now and then. But until a goal is scored against them, that zero looks pretty good. Jogo bonito indeed.