W. Soccer earns first-ever bid to NCAAs

Penn beat Princeton to clinch second-place in the Ivies, then was rewarded with an at-large NCAA bid. Respect has finally come to the Penn women's soccer team. After capping their best regular season in team history with a 1-0 victory over Princeton Saturday, the surging Quakers (13-3-1, 6-1 Ivy League) received word last night that they have been selected as an at-large team for the 1999 NCAA Tournament. In their first-ever national postseason tournament, the Quakers will travel to Harrisonburg, Va., on Wednesday to face off against James Madison (13-6-1), an at-large selection from the Colonial Athletic Conference. This will be JMU's fifth straight appearance in the 48-team tournament. Last year the Dukes were knocked out by eventual national champion Florida in the second round. "We've been right there for so long that it's so exciting to finally be in," Penn senior co-captain Deane Kocivar-Norbury said. "It feels good." The good feeling is shared by Princeton (12-4-1, 4-2-1) and No. 24 Dartmouth, which also received at-large bids Sunday night, and Ivy League champion and No. 9 Harvard, which automatically qualified for the tournament by winning the Ivy title. The Ivy League is one of only four conferences to qualify four or more teams to the big dance. This fact says a lot about the strength of the league, team members said. "This speaks volumes about the Ivy League," senior forward Andrea Callaghan said. "As angry as I am that Princeton's in because of our rivalry, it shows that there's a lot of respect for the Ivy League. The ACC usually takes four. We thought that only two or maybe three from the Ivy League would get in." The team, which gathered at junior midfielder Kelli Toland's house to receive the news, was "apprehensive" as it awaited the phone call from the selection committee, according to coach Andy Nelson. "We were especially that way when we found out that Dartmouth was in," he said. "Then we heard that Princeton was in and we were like, 'OK, what about us?'" When they finally received the call, Nelson said the cheering from his players was "deafening." "I really thought that we'd be in, but you never know with these committees," said Nelson, who last season led Wellesley College to the quarterfinal round of its first-ever NCAA Division III tournament. "This team's been very good for the past three or four years. They just pushed themselves over the edge this season. It takes a few years to get some respect." Penn has definitely given a performance this season that garners respect. After a heartbreaking overtime loss to then-unranked Harvard October 2, the Quakers went on a tear, winning eight of nine and outscoring opponents 21-7 heading into Saturday's season-finale against the Tigers. And the Senior Day match in front of a packed Rhodes Field crowd certainly lived up to the Penn-Princeton rivalry. In her final home match as a Quaker, Callaghan added two more to her all-time career points lead of 68 with a beautiful one-on-one goal against Princeton keeper Jordan Rettig in the 41st minute. The goal broke a 0-0 tie and gave Penn the mental advantage that it needed to fend off a tenacious Princeton offense for the rest of the game. "It was great timing because I think psychologically it gave us a nice lift before halftime," Nelson said. "It put us in the driver's seat." Kocivar-Norbury, a central defender, set up the goal with a well-placed leading pass into the Tiger's half for Callaghan. After that, the scoring phenom used her speed to do what she does best. "I ran onto it and tried to outrun my defender. I got away but the girl caught up to me and knocked me off balance right after I got the shot off," Callaghan said. "I turned around and saw that it was in." Callaghan capitalized on one of Penn's few chances of the game. Princeton actually outshot the Quakers 10-9, but it turned out to be quality, not quantity, that decided the game. "We just kept fighting and doing everything we could to stop their chances," senior co-captain and defender Jen Danielson said. "Obviously we shut them out, so we had an edge over their offense, but it was definitely a fight. Even though they had locations in the box, we didn't give them a clear-cut shot at goal." The Tigers' only real scoring threat came from leading scorer Dana DeCore with about 20 minutes to go. Through a slight Penn defensive breakdown, DeCore gained possession of the ball in the right side of the penalty box. Her low shot, though, was rejected by Quakers keeper Katherine Hunt, whose spiraling dive knocked the ball away from the goal and secured the shutout win. "Kathy came out and made a fantastic save," Nelson said. "Real good goalkeepers usually don't do anything for 80 minutes and then come up with the big save when the team? needs it." With the save and the shutout, Hunt, only a freshman, entered the Penn record books with the lowest goals against average (0.76) and the fewest goals allowed in a season (13). And with the phone call from the NCAA selection committee, the Quakers are looking to begin a long tradition of postseason play. "I'm overwhelmed," Callaghan said after hearing the news. "I couldn't ask for a better senior year. I'm so proud." The winner of the Penn-JMU game will advance to the Round of 32 to meet No. 16 Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday. On Wednesday, Dartmouth will play host to Colgate and Princeton will travel to face off against Hartford. As a top-16 team, Harvard automatically advances to the second round, when it will host the winner of Boston College-Fairfield Saturday.