Toland's goal not enough as W. Soccer falls to Harvard

Kelli Toland was named team tournament MVP, but Penn only earned a weekend split. For the first 66 minutes of its game against Harvard on Saturday, the Penn women's soccer team looked like it would soon be called the new favorite to win the Ivy League. Then the Crimson showed why that title belongs to them. Harvard (5-1-1, 3-0) tied the game with a goal in the 67th minute and won it seven minutes into overtime as the Quakers saw their conference title hopes take a sudden and severe hit after a 2-1 loss. Penn (5-2-1, 2-1) rebounded to defeat Boston University 3-2 in yesterday's game of the Harvard Invitational behind two goals from Kelli Toland. That win, however, could not make up for the weekend's earlier setback against Harvard. "I thought we did very well in the first half [of the Harvard game]," Penn coach Andy Nelson said. "We had three very good chances and put one of them away and Harvard didn't have any good looks at all." Penn has never beaten the Crimson but a breakthrough victory seemed promising in the first half, especially after Toland gave the Quakers a 1-0 lead at 34:32. Senior forward Jill Callaghan had possession on the left side of the field when she found the junior midfielder open for a cross in the middle. Toland then got control of the ball before firing a shot past Harvard goalkeeper Cheryl Gunther for her first goal of the season. Despite getting outshot 25-10 in the game, the Quakers were able to maintain their one-goal lead until midway through the second half. Harvard midfielder Bryce Weed found herself open 30 yards from the net, where she was able to beat Penn freshman goalkeeper Katherine Hunt for the equalizer. Hunt -- who made eight saves in the game -- and Penn's veteran defense were able to hold off Harvard during the remainder of regulation to force overtime. Seven minutes and 49 seconds into the extra session, however, Penn's defense finally succumbed to the Crimson attack when Harvard forward Beth Zotter shot the ball over Hunt's head, off the crossbar and into the net for the game-winning goal. Harvard has now won nine consecutive meetings against the Red and Blue, dating back to the inception of Penn women's soccer in 1991. This one may have been the most difficult for the Crimson. "We're very close to Harvard now and the players know it," Nelson said. "They know how close they are to all of the top teams in the country. We were a hungry team before, but I think we're even hungrier now." Penn next faced BU yesterday afternoon. The Terriers (6-5) were also coming off a tough Saturday loss -- a 2-1 defeat by Brigham Young. Once again, it was Toland who led Penn's offensive effort. The junior midfielder continued her hot weekend when she scored the game's first goal 22:47 into the contest after receiving a pass from junior Angela Konstantaras in front of the goal. BU tied the game three minutes before the end of the first half with a Nicole Soules goal from 20 yards out. The Quakers, who were outshot 12-10 in the game, entered halftime in a 1-1 deadlock. Penn broke the tie nine minutes into the second half when freshman Jennifer Valentine beat Terriers goalie Beth Weisman from 15 yards out. Toland gave Penn a 3-1 advantage in the 69th minute after taking a feed from Jill Callaghan and sending it past Weisman. The goal was Toland's second of the game and third of the weekend after being held scoreless in Penn's first six games. Toland's effort earned her the honor of team MVP for the tournament. "After the game I asked her, 'Why have you been waiting so long?'" Nelson said. "I'm really not surprised that she scored three goals this weekend. For two of them, she just read the situation really well and was in the right place at the right time, and the third was just an outstanding effort that very few players could make." Toland's insurance goal proved necessary when the Terriers' Deidre Enos cut the Penn lead to 3-2 in the 90th minute. The Quakers held on for the one-goal win to earn a weekend split. Reigning Ivy League Player of the Week Andrea Callaghan was shut out in both games. In Penn's previous three games, the senior forward scored game-winning goals in 1-0 wins over Dartmouth and Cornell and racked up two goals and an assist against Temple. With opposing defenses paying special attention to Callaghan this weekend, the goal-scoring barrage did not continue, but there were more openings for others like Toland to find the net. It was this goal-scoring balance which the Quakers have been hoping to achieve all season. Although Toland's heroics gave Penn a win against BU, they were not enough to give the Quakers their first-ever win over Harvard. With that loss, Penn finds itself in the familiar position of looking up at the Crimson in the Ivy League standings.