It was a match between two Ivy soccer titans that had waited nearly a year for a reprise.
And for 110 minutes, the Penn women's soccer team and Harvard -- the reigning Ivy co-champions of a year ago -- made the wait well worth it.
But the final tally left the scoreboard exactly as it appeared when the game began -- Penn 0, Harvard 0.
"We knew this game was a turning point because we had beaten them at Harvard last year to win the Ivy, and they would be gunning for us," Penn's Amy Salomon said. "We knew it was our biggest game of the season."
Heading into Saturday's game, the Quakers were hopeful their offense could provide the same fireworks it did in last year's triumph in Boston. Sophomore forward Katy Cross scored a hat trick to lead the Quakers over Harvard in Penn's final regular season game.
Though freshman Jenna Linden and Salomon both smacked shots off the Harvard post, the Quakers could not dent the Harvard net. Penn also had two breakaways in the second half but were unable to convert.
But it wasn't only the high-flying Penn offense that was shut down. Harvard, which has a pretty solid offense in its own right was also held scoreless.
"We were happy with the way we shut them down," said Salomon.
Penn focused on shutting down the Crimson through the middle of the field.
"We knew that their two center midfielders and forwards were going to play tough," Salomon said.
The Harvard midfield is anchored by junior Katie Westfall, a third-team All-American and 1st team Ivy League selection in 2001.
Senior forward Joey Yenne leads the Crimson's offensive attack. Yenne, a second team All-Ivy selection last year, currently leads the team in points with 12. She has scored four goals and earned four assists.
The Penn defense was able to frustrate the Crimson attack behind the strong play of junior goalkeeper Vanessa Scotto. Scotto made seven saves in the game.
Though the Quakers were unable to score, they dictated the pace of the game, especially during the second half of play.
The Quakers' tie ended a two-game losing streak and extended their Ivy League success, upping their record to 1-0-1.
The draw also gave the Quakers a strong start to what they believe is the second part of the soccer season.
With Princeton standing as the Quakers next opponent -- Penn will travel to face the Tigers on Saturday -- the Quakers are ready for yet another tough league test.
Princeton has started the season 7-0, the best start in the program's history since 1980, when the Tigers started the year 14-0.
"We thought of it as the beginning of the second half of our season," Salomon said.
"Now that the Harvard game is over," Salomon said, "Princeton is the biggest game of the season."
