Women's soccer continues home cookin’ at Rhodes

For the Penn women’s soccer team, there’s no place like home.

The Quakers took out Cornell and St. Francis this weekend at Rhodes Field by scores of 2-1 and 3-0, respectively. The pair of wins pushes the team’s home winning streak to nine games, dating back to last season.

Freshman Clara Midgley and senior Marin McDermott led Penn’s offensive attack against the Big Red (2-9, 0-2 Ivy) with two second-half goals to give the Quakers their first Ivy League win this season.

After a scoreless first half, Midgley scored her first collegiate goal two minutes into the second half off a well-placed through ball from midfielder Claire Walker. One-on-one with the Cornell goalkeeper, Midgley flicked the ball with the outside of her foot into the far post corner to give the Quakers a 1-0 lead.

However, it wasn’t time for the Quakers to celebrate. Just seven minutes later, the Big Red countered with a goal off the head of Cornell’s Abigail Apistolas.

With the game tied and 18 minutes remaining, Penn’s 12-game winning streak against Cornell was on the line. To McDermott, this was a moment of urgency.

“I just thought, ‘Go hard. Go as hard I can for the last 18 minutes of the game. This is the season,’” McDermott recalled.

Moments later, McDermott, the Quakers’ leading scorer, found herself alone with the ball on the right side and surged toward the goal, only to have her shot bounce off the post.

Her disappointment was short-lived, however, as she scored two minutes later off a corner kick to give the Quakers the lead for good. The goal gave McDermott 47 points on her career, moving her into the top 10 in points in program history.

Following McDermott’s goal, Penn controlled the rest of the game and frustrated Cornell, resulting in a yellow card and seven fouls to count against the Big Red in the second half.

Though Penn’s attack was largely led by upperclassmen McDermott, Erin Beck and Kathryn Barth, the underclassmen made a major impact in the second half with strong play from freshman forwards Midgley and Megan York, who also netted two goals in Sunday’s win over St. Francis.

Meanwhile, sophomore back Brianna Rano contributed the game-winning assist to McDermott against Cornell.

“That’s the beauty of this: we’re starting to see kids step up when you least expect it,” Penn coach Darren Ambrose said. “Maybe that’s what’s going to carry us the rest of the [season].”

Apart from a defensive breakdown on the Big Red’s sole goal, Penn’s defense had a good showing, including a sliding save by keeper Sarah Banks that stifled a goal-scoring chance from Cornell’s Kerry Schubert.

While encouraged by the Quakers’ performance in the second half, Ambrose expressed frustrations with the lack of intensity at the game’s start.

“We have to compete harder,” Ambrose said. “Ivy League games are a little bit about soccer and a lot about passion.”

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