Yesterday afternoon, fans at Rhodes Field were treated to one of the most entertaining games in Penn women's soccer history.
Penn's attacking duo of sophomore Katy Cross and freshman Jenna Linden led the way for the Quakers in a 5-4 victory over Soccer 7 rival La Salle (3-1-1).
Both Cross and Linden earned two goals and two assists on the day, with each assisting on one another's goals.
Scoring came in waves yesterday afternoon, as both the Explorers and Quakers (3-2) scored three goals in two different eight-minute periods.
Penn jumped out to an early 3-0 lead by scoring goals in the 2nd, 4th and 8th minutes of the game.
Linden netted the first and third goal, while Cross added the second.
"It was nice getting such an early lead," Linden said. "But early leads can be dangerous."
The Quakers, up 3-0 at halftime, wouldn't see the danger of an early lead until the second half.
Penn coach Darren Ambrose tried to prepare the Quakers for La Salle's surge out of halftime.
"I told them, 'Don't think that you've got the game won. Don't sit back and rest on your laurels,'" he said. "'The first 15 minutes they are going to come after us, and they are going to come hard. You have got to match that.'"
The Red and Blue failed to heed Ambrose's advice, letting the Explorers find their way back into the game.
The Explorers scored their first goal of the game in the 58th minute when an attempted cross by junior forward Krista Lee deflected off the foot of Penn defender Jessica Woodward and snuck past freshman goalkeeper Monica Silvestre.
La Salle continued to pressure the Quakers, scoring another goal two minutes later. Freshman midfielder Alexis Petrucci banged home a cross from teammate Liz Schmidt.
Seemingly not fazed by La Salle's offensive charge, Katy Cross answered back less than a minute later with her second goal of the day. Cross lofted a high shot from 35 yards that the goalie was unable to deflect over the crossbar.
The scoring didn't stop here, however. La Salle senior forward and co-captain Amy Schneider scored the Explorers' third goal of the game -- and third in five minutes -- on a breakaway in the 63rd minute.
Penn sophomore defender Amy Salomon -- unable to keep up with Schneider for most of the game -- tackled her in the 65th minute along the sideline, after Schneider had passed her.
La Salle midfielder Jessica Eisele took the ensuing free kick, lofting it into box. Silvestre was unable to snare the cross, and Lee drove home her second goal by heading the ball into the empty Penn net.
Silvestre's miscue continued what has been an unfortunate string of netminding gaffes for the Quakers.
"Monica didn't play her best. She gave up the fourth goal that turned the momentum in favor of La Salle," Ambrose said. "She is young, and she is going to learn."
After allowing the tying goal, Ambrose made a key substitution, replacing Salomon with sophomore defender Carrie Johnson. The change would swing the momentum back in Penn's favor.
"I was worried because they had complete control of the game. When I put in Carrie, she took care of No. 6 [Schneider], their captain, and a phenomenal player," Ambrose said.
"We managed to slow them down. After slowing them down we regained control of the game."
Freshman forward Carolyn Cross capitalized on Penn's advantage by scoring the fifth and decisive goal in the 75th minute.
She lofted in what appeared to be a mistruck cross from the far side of the field that managed to elude La Salle goalkeeper, Kerry Schamberger, and find its way into the back of the net.
The ninth goal of the game would be the last, as Penn held on for the last 15 minutes to earn their third straight win of the season.
Feelings were mixed after such an emotional game.
"It's great anytime you win, but the feeling right now is that we let ourselves down," Ambrose said. "When you come out and play for the first 20 minutes and absolutely play as well as any Penn team I have ever coached, if not better, and be up 3-0 against a very good team and then let them back into the game is disappointing."
Ambrose attributed some of Penn's miscues to their youth.
"At the same time what is so great about this is that we are young," he said. "That's why I think we are making the mistakes."
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.