The Penn women's soccer team has been doing nothing but winning these days. In fact, the team went into yesterday's home match against Drexel riding a four-game winning streak dating back to Sept. 26.
The end of the game saw the Quakers notch their fifth straight win and third straight shutout, as they dispatched the Dragons, 4-0. Senior Katy Cross scored a goal and dished out an assist, while freshman Ashley Wallach recorded the first assist of her young NCAA career on senior Rachelle Snyder's goal.
The Quakers (6-4-1, 3-0-0 Ivy) dominated the afternoon, holding steep advantages in shots (16-2) and corner kicks (8-0). In fact, the Drexel offense did not record any shots in the second half.
With the Quakers holding a 2-0 halftime lead, Penn coach Darren Ambrose had the opportunity to go deep into his bench. Katy and junior Carolyn Cross, who put up Penn's first two goals, did not play a minute in the second half.
"It's great for some of the other players to get time, and they've earned it," Ambrose said. "That's what's helped this team this year. The depth of the team is making things competitive each practice and each game because they know they have to play to keep their spot."
Even with the new personnel, the Quakers kept up their momentum against the Dragons (4-8-3).
"When these girls were getting in, the level didn't really change today too much," Ambrose said. I mean, we maintained a rhythm ... so it's great to get so many players to play, get some game experience and rest some of the girls that played in a game just two or three days ago."
"It was great to just see [the substitutes] play," Snyder said. "They were playing so well out there. It was also nice for us to sit on the bench for a little. But, that's the team, you know. That's next year's team, that's the next few years' team, so that's great for them."
One rookie who took advantage of the increased playing time was Wallach. She played the entire second half.
"When we recruited [Wallach] last year, I felt that she was the dark horse of this recruiting class," Ambrose said.
One minute into the second half, the forward split two Drexel defenders deep in the left corner. She penetrated along the end line and found Snyder waiting in the box to put in an easy goal.
"That was all her," Snyder said. "I just let it hit off my foot."
"I just try to make myself as big as possible and get the ball to people in front of the goal," Wallach said. "There's a really good group of seniors and juniors ahead of me. I just try to work hard in practice and they push me to a new level, so when I get on the field, I just work my hardest to keep it to the level that they got off on."
Rounding out the scoring was junior Meg Pittman, who recorded her first goal of the season.
If there is ever a time for the team to be hitting its stride, it is now. The Red and Blue are getting into the meat of their Ancient Eight schedule, and every win is critical in the battle for the top spot in the Ivy League. This Sunday, the Quakers will travel to New Hampshire to take on Dartmouth.
"A lot of players are contributing," Ambrose said of his team. "We're not one-dimensional ... we certainly have got a lot of momentum going into Dartmouth this weekend. But even with that said, it's an Ivy game on the road against a good team."
"We're definitely getting better, more organized, more used to each other," Snyder said. "I hope this continues into Dartmouth."
Drexel 0 0 -- 0Penn 2 2 -- 4 Goals:
1. Cross, K. (P) 9:42 (Bojcun);
2. Cross, C. (P) 30:30 (Cross, K.);
3. Snyder (P) 46:06 (Wallach);
4. Pittman (P) 66:21 (unassisted).
