Snow mid-game? Check. Overtime? Been there, won that.
Last Thursday was seemingly just another average one in the life of freshman midfield Iris Williamson.
In the cold mid-afternoon air, with light snow falling despite it being the second day of spring, Williamson led the Quakers to victory by netting two goals in the final two minutes of overtime against Vanderbilt.
Williamson, a Philadelphia native out of Germantown Friends School, has put up 17 goals this season after joining Penn with the belief that her contributions to the team would be primarily defensive.
According to her, she was “not at all” anticipating the offensive numbers she’s put up.
“I was expecting to play more on the defensive side. I’m excited that I’m getting all these looks on offense,” she said.
Williamson averages 2.42 goals per game, with her first goal-less contest coming two days ago in a 12-11 overtime victory over Cornell.
In Williamson’s eyes, her scoring numbers result from Penn’s free-flowing style of offense, which allows a player with her skill set to shine.
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“Iris is a phenomenal athlete,” coach Karin Brower Corbett said. “I think the kid has a great first step, and she’s powerful.”
Three years ago, Penn captain Maddie Poplawski came onto the collegiate scene with a similar veracity, putting up 21 goals in her freshman campaign.
Now Poplawski, a first-team All-Ivy selection last year, watches as Williamson scores at an even higher rate than the captain herself did.
“I think it’s great, regardless of whoever’s scoring,” Poplawski said. “But definitely, I want her to do well the next four years while she’s here as well. And hopefully I can translate some stuff to her that will help her grow in the next four years.”
While Corbett always speaks about the impossibility of predicting how an athlete will translate from high school to the next level, Williamson also didn’t expect such success right out of the gate.
“Oh, no,” she said. “Not at all.”
Through seven games, however, it’s fair to say that Williamson’s success isn’t a fluke. In fact, with the rest of the team still finding itself offensively, Penn’s opponents have put their best defenders on Williamson at times.
Even while she puts up goals for the Quakers, Williamson has also continued to help on the other end of the field.
Ultimately, the only thing threatening to slow down Williamson is herself.
Before the Vanderbilt game, she admitted that “it’s hard. It’s a lot of work, a lot of strain on your body, but I’ve been rehabbing, keeping my body healthy, preventative stuff, and that’s the only way I can make sure I stay healthy and strong.”
Clearly, her rehab has done its job, but to keep up that energy over the course of the season is a challenge that Williamson never had to face in high school.
“In high school, I think she didn’t have a strong team,” Corbett said. “It was basically just, ‘Let’s wait for Iris and then go to goal.’ In college, it doesn’t work that way.”
The challenge that the Red and Blue will face going forward is determining how much playing time will make Williamson most effective.
As an explosive player, Williamson is dangerous in short spurts, but just how often she’ll need to come off the field has yet to be determined.
Questions about her playing time and fatigue are just the latest in a line of hurdles Williamson has had to overcome this season.
But if the first seven games have been any indication, she’ll just keep working hard and looking to score, like it’s just another day at the office.
SEE ALSO
Quakers hold off Big Red rally
Quakers barely eke out win against Vanderbilt
Women’s lax looks to shore up offense against Vanderbilt
Phillips | Penn lacrosse’s growth will take time in life after Brennan
