After a poor showing in Friday's first half against Columbia, in which the Penn women's soccer team was outshot, 7-3, and outscored, 1-0, coach Darren Ambrose had a message for his players.
"Darren talked to us at halftime and basically asked, 'Why are you so scared? You don't have anything to be afraid of. You're a better team,'" sophomore Kristin Kaiser said.
The Quakers responded after the break, applying continuous pressure to grind out a 1-1 tie at Rhodes Field.
And two days later, Kaiser eliminated the need for a mid-game pep talk, scoring two goals in the opening 15 minutes to secure a 2-0 victory over La Salle.
"The longer the game went on, it threatened to become more physical, and the longer they stayed in it, the more confident they would get," Ambrose said of Sunday's game with the Explorers (5-7-2).
"So we stressed the importance of trying to get off to a good start."
Penn (7-3-2, 2-0-1 Ivy) is now unbeaten in its past seven games, the second-longest streak in program history, according to an Athletics Department spokesman.
After the two overtimes with the Lions ended in a stalemate, the Quakers were left in a three-way tie atop the Ancient Eight with Columbia and Princeton.
Ivy League Rookie of the Week, Columbia's Sophie Reiser put back a rebound to open Friday's scoring in the 33rd minute. In the 70th minute, Penn junior Mara Fintzi finally broke through with the equalizer on a 2-on-1 break, assisted by Kaiser and freshman Marin McDermott.
"Tactically, we just needed to move the ball faster," Ambrose said. "We were very individual in the first half. It was about the player with the ball, and it was like we were asking that player to solve the game by themselves."
Ambrose also switched goalies at the break, as Sara Rose gave way to junior Cailly Carroll, who saw her first action of the season.
"We expected balls in the air from Columbia because they're very direct," Ambrose said. "It was a lot of balls that were squeaking behind us. . Cailly's strength is that, so we figured we'd give her [playing time]."
This weekend also marked the return of junior Jess Fuccello - Penn's leading scorer last season - from injury. Fuccello logged about 15 minutes against Columbia and 25 against La Salle, although Ambrose said she is still "a little rusty in front of goal."
She found the back of the net against the Explorers, but the tally was called back because of an offsides.
"It showed you that she's still got the knack around the goal," Ambrose said. "She'll play this weekend, and she'll be a factor. . I think other teams are intimidated by her."
Although all of the players from last year's championship squad are now back in action, Ambrose downplayed any comparisons to last season.
"From a statistical standpoint, we're probably in exactly the same place we were," he said. "But it's not about where you start, it's where you finish. And that I think is what we're trying to keep in the back of our minds."
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