Dissatisfied with the scoreless first 13 minutes of last night's game against Drexel, Penn coach Val Cloud called a timeout.
Whatever she told the Red and Blue worked magic.
Less than a minute after gathering for the timeout on the Franklin Field sideline, the Quakers broke the scoreless tie and eventually went on to defeat Drexel, 1-0.
With 22 minutes left in the first half, Penn junior Cara Calahan, the most recent Ivy League Player of the Week for field hockey, found the back of the net off a pass from senior All-American Liz Lorelli.
"I scored the goal," Calahan said. "But it was a perfect feed from Lorelli."
Had the change of pace created by the timeout made the difference? Was it self-motivation? Inspirational words?
"Val let us know that we needed to get it together," junior Kelly McFadden said.
That is exactly what the Red and Blue did.
The Quakers (7-4, 2-1 Ivy) resumed playing at their usual skill level for just enough time to allow the offense to finally find an opening.
Calahan's goal, the only one of the game, lifted the Red and Blue over their crosstown rivals and earned the Quakers their third shutout of the season.
Up until that point, the Dragons had silenced Lorelli, Calahan and the rest of the Penn offense.
"I really give credit to Drexel," Cloud said. "They were the underdogs but really played more like the top dogs."
Still, the Dragons' efforts could not overcome Penn's strong defensive performance.
Penn seniors Kate Murphy and Bernice Raveche and freshman sweeper Melissa Black joined McFadden to create a defensive wall that proved impermeable. Drexel managed just one shot all night.
"We recognized who the key players were, what they were doing successfully, and focused on shutting that down," McFadden said.
"The timeout allowed us to think about what we could do better that we hadn't been doing before."
Though they emerged with another win, the Quakers are cognizant of the weaknesses in last night's performance.
"It was a down night for us," Cloud said. "Basically, we didn't execute."
"We were all trying to do the right thing," Penn junior Lea Salese said. "We just weren't connecting."
Even with a little luck, the Quakers' victory over their next-door neighbor still tasted sweet.
"It's always fun to beat our sister Philly teams," McFadden said. "We were upset after the 'Nova game, but it's good to be back on track."
Penn 1 0 -- 1Drexel 0 0 -- 0
Goals: 1. Calahan (P) 22:14 (Lorelli)
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