Only thing Martin can't net is victory

Fear -- an emotion that erupts when you know the opposing team has outscored their opponents 43 to six. Penn fought that fear with basic preparation, a key factor when attempting to defeat the No. 7 team in the nation, Delaware (11-1). The Quakers (3-4), who haven't given up more than two goals the entire season, were surprisingly satisfied in their 5-3 loss to the Blue Hens. Penn's satisfaction stemmed from several facts: first, Delaware is a nationally ranked team; second, no other team has scored more than one goal against Delaware at home; and finally, the only team that defeated Delaware, Connecticut, scored three goals against the Blue Hens. "Penn couldn't have [executed] the game plan better than they did," Penn assistant coach Donna Mulhern said. As a result of Mulhern's scouting report from Delaware's 3-0 defeat against Towson on Sunday, "We knew what we were up against," Penn coach Val Cloud said. Penn knew what they were there to do and they did just that. The Red and Blue stepped up to the ball, switched possession, took more offensive corners, stopped more defensive corners and executed quicker, shorter passes. Taking all of that into account, Penn played a good game. But it wasn't good enough. Courtney Martin's corner goal opened the scoring and put Penn on top early with 27 minutes and 25 seconds remaining in the first half. Delaware fought back as Penn held its only lead of the game for a brief two minutes. At 25:43 in the first half Delaware's Jen Fotiou scored the first of the Blue Hens three first half goals. Julie Byrd scored the Blue Hens' second goal and her first of a hat trick performance. Fotiou attacked again to close the half at 3-1. Although the inevitable odds of losing were starting to take shape at the end of the first half, Penn was determined not to hold anything back. The inevitable odds were also against them in the second half. Nonetheless, both Penn and Delaware scored two goals. "It was not a one and done deal. If we lost a ball we fought back. We didn't just sit back and watch," Cindy Quinn said. It was this "second effort" that kept the Quakers in the game. Assisted by junior Maureen Flynn and Quinn, Martin scored two more goals in the second half. But, Martin's hat trick performance did not match the five goals scored by Delaware's Fotiou (2) and Byrd (3). Although the game goes on record as a loss, Penn is looking at this game as a turning point in its season. "It was the best game we played all season. We will have to continue this type of play, and hopefully we'll keep getting better," Cloud said. The players were in agreement with Cloud. "We had not played up to our potential before [yesterday's game]. It was the first game that we actually did what we have been working on in practices," Quinn said. "It was the first game that everything came together."