Sophomore midfielder Sarah Friedman - who hails from nearby Villanova, Pa. - knows all about Big 5 rivalries. After helping the Quakers grind out a 4-2 victory over Saint Joseph's last night with one goal and two assists, she said there was "definitely" a pride factor in defeating a local school.
"Every game there's a Philadelphia rivalry . it becomes really physical," Friedman said. "It's not always great soccer, but it's [about] the one who wants it more."
Strong rain before first touch caused muddy conditions at Rhodes Field, which Penn coach Darren Ambrose said also contributed to the match's physicality.
"I think some of our kids have to realize they're going to have to be a bit more physical if they want to be on the field, because Ivy games will tend to be more like that," Ambrose said.
"I thought St. Joe's was [the aggressor] today. And I thought we were pretty much reacting to them, which is a little disappointing, but it's a good lesson for us."
Friedman - who quietly leads the Quakers with 15 points - opened the scoring at 9:18 with a free kick from 30 yards out into the upper left corner of the goal.
St. Joe's freshman phenom Jen Pfeiffer, who leads her team with seven goals in 10 games, evened the score 10 minutes later. But with 14 seconds left in the first half, Natalie Capuano corralled a corner kick from Friedman and fired it into the net.
The Quakers managed an impressive 10 shots on goal before the break, but St. Joe's goalkeeper Cara Critchlow kept her team in the game with eight saves.
"We missed some opportunities," Friedman said. "We did make [Critchlow] look a little better than she actually was."
Ambrose said he thought the Quakers created enough opportunities to be ahead by four goals at halftime, but he was disappointed in his team's composure in front of the opposing goal - something he attributed to the inexperience of some of his younger players.
In one example, freshman Ursula Lopez-Palm broke away behind the defense with no one between her and the keeper. But after running toward the corner of the net, Lopez-Palm shot it directly at Critchlow's feet, allowing her to make the save.
However, Lopez-Palm appeared to learn from her mistake. On a nearly identical play with eight minutes remaining in the second half, Lopez-Palm took a pass from junior Mara Fintzi and finished the goal to put away the Hawks.
Senior Molly Weir added the game's final tally on a breakaway after a long lead by Friedman.
"We were kind of in the first half caught up with playing underneath," Capuano said. "And once we started putting balls over the top, opening things up a little bit, we were just able to create more opportunities for ourselves."
The Quakers may have had even more chances if not for six offsides, most of them in the first period.
"It was, I think, a lack of concentration on their parts," Ambrose said. "I just don't think our forwards worked hard enough when the ball wasn't near them to recover to get back into a position to help us."
Ambrose said it is difficult to play a "sandwich game" between two crucial Ivy League matches, so he was happy overall with his team's effort.
"We weren't really sharp, we were second to a lot of balls, and we were off a step," Ambrose.
"But to still be able to beat a good team . in midweek, in between two very big games, shows that they can get up and play."
