Something happened between Saturday's 1-1 tie at Columbia and yesterday's 3-2 win over Loyola at Rhodes Field for the Penn women's soccer team.
Over the weekend, Penn coach Darren Ambrose called his team's possession skills "not as clean as they can be right now."
Yesterday, he called the defense "flawless" and said that the midfield is "getting better every game."
Any bitterness the Quakers (6-2-3) may have felt after the tie against the Lions and last Wednesday's closer-than-necessary 2-1 win at Drexel was blown away yesterday by a strong wind which reached 30 miles per hour and a Quakers offense which attacked relentlessly all afternoon.
After Katy Cross scored the Quakers' only goal in the tie with Columbia, Penn responded with one of its best performances of the season and, the Quakers hope, a sign of things to come.
"I think we've hit a turning point in the year," Ambrose said. "We were at a low point, and I think that [the team has] responded very well."
Penn scored the game's first goal -- for the first time in its last six games -- in the 15th minute as a result of good combination play from three juniors. Defender Jessica Woodward's throw-in found forward Cross, who flicked the ball to Lydia Bojcun. The Hamilton Square, N.J., native passed the ball right back to Cross, whose shot beat Greyhounds goalkeeper Kate Gilfillan to the far post.
Seven minutes later, the Red and Blue were on the board again. Sophomore midfielder Jenna Linden found Cross, who beat two defenders on a run to the center of the field and shot the ball. But Cross was taken down by Gilfillan as the ball headed wide of the post. The referee pointed to the penalty spot, and Gilfillan could only stand and watch sophomore Robin Watson slot the ball into the back of the net.
But momentum quickly swung Loyola's way four minutes later. Carolyn Kennington served a ball into the box which senior goalkeeper Vanessa Scotto failed to reach, and the botched clearance fell to Naomi Daniels. She managed to chip the ball over the defense, off the crossbar, and just over the goal line -- despite the protests of some Penn players who thought they saw otherwise.
Both teams continued to press but Penn faltered as the half went on. In the 34th minute, Watson tripped Loyola's Ashley Kramer in the box and the Greyhounds got a penalty kick of their own. Kramer took it and fired it past a lunging Scotto into the left side of the net, tying the game at 2-2.
That score stood until the 60th minute. Rachelle Snyder played a low through ball from the left wing, which Cross met after beating two defenders, slotted past Gilfillan to give the Quakers a 3-2 lead. The defense took over from there, and held on for a crucial victory.
"We've been talking about possessing the ball and keeping it and I think we did that today," Cross said. "It's a big thing going into next weekend with a win, we needed it."
