Senior's storybook goal gives Quakers big win

Kristin Connelly had never started a game in her four-year Quakers career, and she only appeared in eight games over that span.

Yesterday, however, she was the hero. Senior Day became Kristen Connelly Day after she deflected Margaretha Ehret's blast for the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Brown.

The win moves Penn (9-7, 4-2 Ivy) ahead of Brown (9-6, 3-3) into sole possession of second place.

Following a tradition for the final home game of the season, the seniors - Connelly, Nyssa Liebermann, Tracy Statter, Liz Schlossberg and Melina Tsui - and their parents were honored in a pregame ceremony on Franklin Field. While coach Val Cloud included all five in the starting lineup for the occasion, only Connelly was not a regular - but she made the most of her opportunity.

On a penalty corner 15 minutes into the first half, Statter inbounded the ball to Meghan Rose, who quickly passed it along to Ehret. From 10 yards out, she ripped a high shot that was headed for the blocker side of Brown goaltender Kristen Hodavance. Connelly got her stick on the ball and redirected it to the right of Hodavance and into the net.

"Kristin loves the team and loves the game and loves to compete and especially loves the people on the team, and she stuck with it," Cloud said after the game. "You couldn't have a more Cinderella ending for her career. She'll never forget this her whole life, and I don't think I will either."

Schlossberg, a captain, said the day was filled with "a lot of emotion for all the seniors."

"It was a perfect ending for all of the seniors to have Kristin score that goal because she works so hard and she deserved it," she added.

The defense made sure that Connelly's goal was enough. Schlossberg recorded her third shutout of the season without even making a save, since all three of the Bears' shots went wide.

Most of the game was spent in the Bears' territory.

"We were stopping them higher up the field, which takes a lot of pressure off of our defense" assistant coach Jeremy Cook said. "It creates a short field for us."

The Quakers took advantage, generating 17 shots and eight corners. They continually applied pressure, at one point taking three consecutive corners within less a minute. They had several near-breakaways and scrambles in front of Hodavance. Eight different players took shots - everyone contributed to the victory.

"I'm just so proud of them," Cloud said of her players, "because our mission was not only to put our best foot forward individually, but collectively, and this was one of the best team efforts I've ever seen at Penn."

The Quakers march into their season finale at Princeton extremely confident, having won six in a row. Princeton has already wrapped up the title, but Penn is in a tight race for second place. Nevertheless, despite the implications of next weekend's game for the rivalry and the standings, Cloud called yesterday's game "the best win of the whole season, no matter what happens next week."

For Connelly, it was also the best game of her career.

"It felt great," Connelly said. "It's exactly how I'd want to end the season. It couldn't have gone better."

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