It wasn't the offensive futility that defined the Penn women's soccer team's loss to Dartmouth yesterday. And it wasn't the injuries to the Quakers' frontline or their severely altered rotation. According to coach Darren Ambrose, Penn's 1-0 loss could be described in four simple words: "One mistake, one goal."
For the second time in two Ivy League games, the Quakers (7-4-1, 1-3-0 Ivy) lost a defensive battle after a critical loss of possession in their half of the field.
"It was a carbon copy of the Columbia performance," Ambrose said. "It's obviously frustrating for us."
After a Penn free kick from midfield in the 30th minute, Dartmouth (9-3-1, 4-0) sent a long, harmless lob over the Quakers' backline, setting up a clear for defender Ashley Hull. And that's when it all went wrong.
Hull passed it to goalkeeper Cailly Carroll, but Carroll had come out of the goal thinking it was hers to play. The ball ricocheted off of Carroll right to Dartmouth forward Emily Tracy, who put it in from 30 yards out, effectively dashing any hope Penn had of winning an Ivy title.
Despite the fact that one
miscue sank the Quakers again, this match was a little bit different. Against Columbia two games ago, Penn could not put the ball in the net, but it was clear that the effort was there.
The same cannot be said of yesterday's match.
"They just wanted it more than we did," sophomore captain Natalie Capuano said. "And that's why we lost."
But this lack of passion manifested itself in a couple of specific ways.
The Quakers were outshot 16-7 by the Big Green, and did not earn a corner kick all game, erasing any momentum they may have had coming off of a six-goal performance against Robert Morris. By most accounts, Penn was simply outmuscled.
"Dartmouth was very, very aggressive," Ambrose said. "They were first to every ball, they ran through tackles. . We just didn't look like we were really ever going to threaten them."
With two of Penn's offensive anchors out with injury, it's not hard to see why. Freshman forward Michelle Drugan pulled a hamstring against Robert Morris, and junior defender Rachel Fletcher - second on the team shots - was out with an undetermined foot injury.
The Red and Blue was forced to go with a reserve corps made up of largely inexperienced players who were of little help in relieving the stress on the depleted frontline - they were able to get off only one shot yesterday.
This was just one more thing for the Quakers to mull over during their long ride back from Hanover, N.H., after a result they would like to forget, but know they merited.
Ambrose put it best: "At the end of the day, I can't say we deserved much better."
