W. Soccer blows Navy out of the water

The Quakers beat Navy 6-0 on Sunday after earning an Ivy League win over Brown the day before. The wins were there, but the offensive explosion the team was looking for was not. This weekend, the Penn women's soccer team got both the wins and the offense as it beat Brown and Navy to improve to 11-3-1 (4-1 Ivy League). The Quakers took out the struggling Bears 1-0 Saturday before dismantling the Midshipmen 6-0 yesterday. Penn finished its grueling schedule of five games in nine days with a 4-1 mark to remain in contention for the Ivy League title and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Six different Quakers scored in Sunday's blowout of a Navy team which had brought a solid 12-5 record into the game. Penn had 16 shots in the game, meaning that it converted an astounding 37.5 percent of its attempts. "The fact that six different players scored says a lot about the team," senior Jill Callaghan said. "The other team can't focus on one or two players. We're getting goals from both starters and bench players and that really helps our offense." The balanced Penn attack was started by junior Ashley Kjar, who scored off a pass from senior Andrea Callaghan at 18:04 in the first half. Less than three minutes later, junior Angela Konstantaras received a cross from freshman Heidi Nichols and beat goalkeeper Sarah Wilson for her first goal of the season and a 2-0 advantage. The onslaught was underway. Andrea Callaghan earned her second assist of the half when she fed junior Aidan Viggiano for the third goal of the game. Viggiano beat Wilson from six yards out to give Penn its largest halftime advantage of the season. The scoring barrage continued in the second half when Jill Callaghan's goal gave the Quakers a 4-0 lead at 59:07. Freshman Jennifer Valentine earned an assist for the goal, which moved Jill Callaghan into second-place all-time with 59 points. First place is held by her twin sister Andrea. Junior Kelli Toland made it 5-0 with her career-high seventh goal of the season and Nichols rounded out the scoring at 73:39 to make it 6-0. "Our offense was much, much better," Penn coach Andy Nelson said. "Our off-the-ball movement was really good. Angie [Konstantaras] played well and that helped out our whole offense." In Saturday's Ivy League matchup, the Quakers were facing a Brown team which has been competitive against opponents the whole season but has had trouble winning games. The Bears (2-9-2, 0-4-1 Ivies) held the Quakers in check for one half, playing the hosts to a scoreless tie at the break. Both teams combined for only five shots, as the Red and Blue's offensive struggles resurfaced. In the game's 51st minute, Penn finally mounted a serious attack on goal. Andrea Callaghan sent the ball to Konstantaras, who played it back to her over the defense. Callaghan then crossed it to freshman Heather Taylor, who headed the ball past Brown goalie Elise Roy for the game's lone goal. The stellar Penn defense recorded its third-straight shutout with Sunday's win and its eighth of the year. Freshman goalkeeper Katherine Hunt made six saves in the two games to protect the scoreless streak. "The defense didn't have a lot to do, but what it had to do, it did well," Nelson said. "Katherine did make one spectacular save against Navy but was not tested a whole lot." Penn's win against Brown keeps it in contention for the Ivy League title with two conference games to go. The lone blemish for the Quakers was an overtime loss to 5-0 Harvard. Penn needs to win its two remaining games against Yale and Princeton and hope that the Crimson are defeated by either Princeton or Dartmouth in order to gain a share of the title. The Quakers can qualify for the NCAA Tournament by either winning the Ivy League or receiving an at-large bid, which is a realistic possibility at this time.