W. Soccer pours it on Delaware

Penn's women's soccer team scored four goals in the final 20 minutes. Following their 9-0 pummeling of Delaware yesterday at home on Rhodes Field, any student of statistics can easily detect a pattern in the Penn women's soccer team's performances this season. Forget records, injuries or strategy -- the Quakers' chances for success can be predicted in a very simple yet systematic way. The first variable to examine is the opponent's location: the Quakers' wins are positively correlated with the closeness of the opposing school. That is, the nearer the school is to Penn, the greater the chance that the Quakers will come away with a win. Penn is 3-0 in Philadelphia Soccer-7 contests. Second, the Quakers' wins also show a positive correlation with the amount of frustration the team is experiencing, typically from a recent Ivy League loss. Thus, using this method to predict the outcome of yesterday's game, all signs pointed to a win for the Red and Blue. And that's exactly what happened. Having already disposed of Drexel, Temple and La Salle this season, the Quakers extended their neighboring territory to include nearby Wilmington, home of the University of Delaware. Furthermore, coming off of a very disappointing loss at Dartmouth last weekend, the Quakers frustration was piqued as they took on Delaware. "After a loss on Saturday people will see the 9-0 score over Delaware and be impressed," Penn tri-captain Kelly Stevens said. "It gives us the confidence to play great soccer." So, considering these trends, yesterday's 9-0 non-league victory is really no surprise. The Quakers brought out all of their artillery to attack the Blue Hens, getting a goal from six different players and two each from Angela Konstantaras and Jill Callaghan. "Everybody got minutes," junior defender Jennifer Danielson said. "A lot of different people scored and got involved on offense." Stevens also returned to the line-up after sitting out two games to recover from a concussion. "I think I played decently," Stevens said. "I was excited to play because I haven't played in ten days. I was hoping to bring some momentum." Injuries hurt the Blue Hens, who lost forwards Mandy Merritt, Stacy Lukins and Kelly Walker in the second half. Merritt's absence was especially influential as she normally leads Delaware's attack. The sophomore entered the game as the team's leading scorer. "A lot of key people weren't playing," Merritt said. "When we were hurt in the second half we lost momentum." This loss of momentum manifested itself in eight second-half goals for the Quakers, who exploited the weak Hens and turned a close 1-0 contest into a 9-0 blowout in a 45 minute span. But according to Stevens, the Delaware injuries and their subsequent break-down were not responsible for Penn's scoring onslaught. "I think in the second half we showed something," she said. "It was more us. We finished our shots and it was awesome soccer." Toland struck first for the Quakers, just three minutes into the second half. Then, like an enzyme cascade, one goal rapidly prompted another until the final buzzer. In fact, the Quakers scored four goals in the last twenty minutes of the contest-- two by Konstantaras, and one each from Stevens and freshman Sabrina Fenton. "If they scored nine goals they must be doing something right," Merritt said of the Quakers. "It was a good start to the rest of the season," Danielson said. The rest of the season begins this weekend when Penn will face Columbia at home. Clearly if the Quakers hope to win, they will need to defy this season's trends as they face a New York opponent while in high spirits.