Early into Wednesday’s game, a frustrated Wagner fan could be heard yelling over the persistent rubble emanating from the stands.
“Somebody just get the ball and shoot it!”
The fan’s needs were never assuaged.
The Quakers shut out the Seahawks, 4-0, with two goals from the boot of junior Marin McDermott Wednesday night, limiting Wagner (5-9-2) to just three shots on goal.
After a disappointing loss to Columbia last weekend, Penn (6-6-0) rebounded with stifling defense and a relentless offensive attack.
“I thought we had so much of the ball, whenever we wanted, it was very hard for [Wagner] to get anything going,” coach Darren Ambrose said.
The Red and Blue started the barrage seven minutes in, when junior Ursula Lopez-Palm scored her third goal of the season with a perfectly placed ball that kissed the far post.
Lopez-Palm didn’t slow down, firing three more shots, and neither did her teammates. The Quakers finished with 20 shots on goal.
Freshman Kerry Scalora added five shots of her own. Late in the first half, she got on the scoreboard after finishing a loose ball in the box.
Yet despite entering the locker room up 2-0, the Quakers weren’t content with their first-half performance. In the 30th minute, Penn dodged a bullet when keeper Caroline Williams slid into an oncoming attacker and deflected a shot at point-blank range.
“I thought we were flat in the first half,” Ambrose said. “We looked as though we were disinterested almost and lacking in emotion, which has been a problem for this team this year.”
However, Ambrose was pleased with the effort he saw in the second stanza. Senior Sarah Friedman connected with McDermott twice within seven minutes early in the half. The goals were McDermott’s second and third of the season.
Going into this weekend’s games against Dartmouth and Yale, it was necessary for the Quakers to use this game to find a winning attitude.
“We’re back on the winning track,” Ambrose said. “We’re back to five hundred, and I think we go [into] conference with a little spring in our step.”
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