It may not be David versus Goliath, but the Penn women’s soccer team has embraced its role as the underdog.
This weekend, the Quakers faced opponents Northwestern and Pittsburgh, both from major conferences.
Though the Ivy League schedule is always the central focus of the season, the early season non-conference matchups are clearly highlighted on the team’s calendar.
Both of Sunday’s goal scorers, junior Kaitlin Campbell and sophomore Marin McDermott, were motivated by revenge in their 2-1 overtime win over Pittsburgh. In last season’s opener, the Quakers dropped their match against the Panthers, 3-1.
But Penn was out to avenge more than just last season’s loss. Coach Darren Ambrose emphasized the team’s need to respond after falling to the Wildcats Friday, viewing Sunday as a “second chance” to defeat a top team.
“It was an opportunity to redeem ourselves,” Ambrose said.
And after the loss to Northwestern, “we needed a confidence boost,” Campbell added.
The win over Pitt was the Quakers’ first over a major-conference opponent since a 1-0 victory over North Carolina State on Sept. 18, 2005. Penn is now 2-6-2 against the major conferences over the past five seasons.
Making them count. McDermott seems to find the net when her team needs it most.
The sophomore’s first collegiate goal came last September in a 2-2 tie against eventual NCAA tournament qualifier Georgetown. Her second proved to be the game-winner in a 2-0 victory over Harvard in the Red and Blue’s 2008 Ivy opener.
McDermott’s overtime goal against the Panthers was just the fifth of her young career. After the game, the Rhinebeck, N.Y., native said it was the first “big-time” game-winning goal she remembered scoring.
By the looks of things, McDermott’s memory will be clouded with plenty more goals as her career continues.
Chasing history. Certainly the biggest news from the past week was star senior Jessica Fuccello’s standout performance last Sunday against La Salle.
The captain’s four goals tied the Penn record, set by Rachelle Snyder in 2001 and Katy Cross in 2003. But she is on her way to yet another place in the record book.
Fuccello already ranks third on the Quakers’ all-time scoring list with 25 goals — tied with 1997 graduate Darah Ross. This feat is more impressive considering she did not score in either of her two appearances during her injury-plagued junior season. She will almost certainly pass Andrea Callaghan’s second-place total of 28 by the end of the season.
With five goals in just four games thus far in 2009, Fuccello — who scored 11 times to lead Ivies in her sophomore campaign — has a shot at breaking Cross’ single-season record of 16 goals.
Although Cross’ all-time Penn record of 50 career goals is safe, it looks like Fuccello will carve her own place in Red and Blue history before her career is over.
