History seemed to repeat itself -- actually carbon copy itself -- yesterday as the Penn's women soccer team fell for the second year in a row to George Mason.
"It was scary how close it was to resembling last year's game," Penn coach Darren Ambrose said of the 1-0 loss in Fairfax, Va.
Following a scoreless first half, the Quakers switched from a 4-4-2 formation to a 4-3-3, in an effort to generate more offense. However, the Patriots' Dianna Russini was able to net the lone goal of the game just four minutes after the half as Penn was still adapting to the new system.
"We didn't really adjust our play to the new formation we had," Penn junior captain Heather Issing said.
The goal came after, what Ambrose termed, a "stupid foul." The resulting free kick was placed deep inside Penn's territory, but still well beyond the 18-yard box. The virtual corner kick was booted along the ground and deflected to the near post after a missed clear.
Junior goalkeeper Anna Halse attempted to pick up the ball, but it squirted out and rolled in the feet of Russini, who pounded it into the open net.
The rest of the game was dominated by the Quakers -- with Penn getting eight second-half shots to George Mason's three -- but they failed to convert on numerous scoring chances.
"I think in the second half things got a little bit more disorganized and frantic," sophomore Robin Watson said. "It was definitely not our strongest performance."
Penn's best opportunity came in the 55th minute when sophomore Carolyn Cross, who Ambrose said provided a spark for the team off the bench, sent in a cross to Watson. However, Watson's shot was cleared just before crossing the goal line by George Mason's Danielle MacDonald.
"We're creating chances to win games comfortably and we're not putting teams away," Ambrose said. "At this level, that's not good enough because teams are good enough to capitalize on a single error that you make."
Penn has been frustrated by its offense early in the season, only managing 11 goals in the first seven games. It is becoming a bigger issue for a team that feels it has outplayed most opponents.
"I feel like we've had way too many 'almost games,'" Issing said. "We haven't put games away. We haven't capitalized in front of the goal and it's going to haunt us until we do.
"We lack concentration, we lack heart in the final third in front of the goal, and I think that's why we haven't scored many goals this season."
Both the players and coaches believe that the team is capable of substantial offensive output, but they are still attempting to unlock their potential.
"We don't have a desire to finish during practice and I think it's translating into the games," Issing said.
Watson believes that the Quakers are overly tense and placing too much pressure on themselves.
"We're doing a whole lot more thinking than playing," Watson said. "Sometimes you have to step back and play the game you love and stop thinking about every little move too much."
Penn will face Cornell in its second Ivy League game of the season Saturday.
"We have to put this behind us and get ready for Cornell because like today, that's going to be a tight game and we have to show up like today and win," Ambrose said.
Penn's coach feels that the Quakers must not sit back and wait for their fortunes to change.
"We're not really making our own luck," Ambrose said. "We're not playing with enough passion in front of the goal, but we're dominating in all other areas of the field."
