W. Soccer rolls in home finale

On an emotional afternoon at Rhodes Field, it was certainly fitting that the cornerstone of the Penn women's soccer program put home the final goal on the Quakers' home turf in 2000. Penn senior co-captain Kelli Toland keyed a five-goal Red and Blue (8-7-1) explosion yesterday, in a 5-0 rout of Lehigh (8-8-1) with a goal and an assist. This game was particularly special to Toland and the other four Penn seniors, since it marked the last time they would ever play a game at Penn. After Toland scored in the 80th minute, she leaped into the arms of her celebrating teammates, who seemed just as happy for her as the captain was for her team. "We can walk off here and feel proud of ourselves," Toland said, deflecting any sense of personal fulfillment to all of the seniors in that selfless, team-first kind of way that denotes a great leader. The native Philadelphian had missed the better part of the Red and Blue's last four games with an ankle injury before returning to the starting lineup yesterday. The Quakers know they are a vastly different team when their star midfielder is in action. "If you think about Penn soccer, it's Kelli Toland," Penn coach Darren Ambrose said. "She's an emotional leader of this team." Penn did not waste any time in ending its two-game scoreless streak in this match as freshman Ashley Glaubach put away her first-ever collegiate goal at the 3:07 mark. There would be no scoring for the next 30 minutes, though the Quakers did control the pace. In this breakthrough game, scoring opportunities abounded for Penn. Junior Sabrina Fenton converted on one such opportunity in the 34th minute, burying a pass from Toland to put Penn up 2-0. In the second half, with a seemingly comfortable two-goal margin, Ambrose chose to insert some of the younger members of his team to see what he might have in store for next year. And if yesterday's game was a harbinger of what is to come for Penn women's soccer, the Quakers could be looking at an exceedingly bright future. Specifically, freshman Ayla Gustafson almost completed a hat trick within a four-minute span. She scored Penn's third goal at 76:46 on a breakaway, and then the team's fourth -- less than 30 seconds later -- on a brilliant give-and-go with senior Angela Konstantaras. Gustafson may have scored the goal, but it was the artwork of Konstantaras that was so stunning. "Angela is the most dynamic player I've seen in the last couple years. She's got all the tools," Ambrose said. "You can't replace that creativity." Konstantaras then registered another assist on what was almost Gustafson's third goal. Her shot was saved, but Toland was there to kick in the rebound. Ambrose was clearly pleased with the performances of all of his instrumental players, but he also took great pride in the play of his freshmen. "I've waited to do that all year," Ambrose said of his decision to empty the bench. "The games have been so tight and competitive that we hadn't been able to do it." Senior co-captain Ashley Kjar is optimistic about Penn's prospects down the road, but not solely because of the promising freshman class. "I really am excited for the future of this program because we have a really good coach," Kjar said. "He's got a great work ethic, and he's got a great talent pool." The stars of the show, however, at least from a sentimental standpoint, were the five graduating Penn seniors: Toland, Kjar, Konstantaras, Shannon Porter and Aidan Viggiano, who was inactive for yesterday's game against the Engineers. Ambrose had particular praise for Kjar, who has been one of his steadiest players. "Ashley is the unsung hero. She's a very consistent player," Ambrose said. "She's the consummate team player." Immediately following the conclusion of the game and the congratulatory embraces with teammates, family and coaches, the seniors were called out to the middle of the field by the public address announcer to be recognized for their four years of contribution to Penn athletics. "It's just been a wonderful experience playing with them," Kjar said of her fellow seniors. "It's been great to watch and learn what they've had to offer." Penn, which has endured its share of ups and downs this fall, wished this game could have gone on forever. "In the second half, in the last 20 minutes, nobody wanted this game to end," Ambrose said. "[The seniors] deserved a better year." The Quakers will wrap up their season Saturday evening at Princeton.

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