Shutout streak snaps with consecutive draws for Penn women's soccer

The Quakers took part in a pair of overtime thrillers this weekend, but victory proved elusive in both contests.

Penn (4-0-2) looked to keep its undefeated record alive in matches against William & Mary and Old Dominion on Friday and Sunday respectively, ending each game in a draw.

The Quakers didn’t concede any goals for the fifth straight game this season on Friday night, but they couldn’t muster up any offense against the Tribe (3-1-4), with the game ending in a 0-0 draw after overtime.

The notable story of the night was the Quakers’ defense and goalkeeping, as the team once again demonstrated its prowess for keeping the opposition off the board. This shutout marked the fifth such accomplishment in five total games this season, as the Quakers had not allowed a single goal to begin the year to this point.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kalijah Terilli also stepped up to make three saves to prevent the opposition from taking the lead. This game was Terilli’s third solo shutout as the keeper this season.

The Red and Blue offense was not completely stymied on this night, having outshot the Tribe 18-8 during the game. Junior forward Clara Midgley led the Quakers with four shots.

Despite having more chances than W&M, the Quakers were not able to finish, as they had been doing so well throughout their previous four games.

Coach Darren Ambrose was pleased with the team’s performance on Friday night.

“We were absolutely fantastic and we dominated the game,” he said. “We invested everything we could into that game.”

On Sunday afternoon, the Quakers trekked to Norfolk, Va. to take on a winless Old Dominion (0-6-1). After an overtime nail biter on Friday night, the Red and Blue had the physically demanding task of facing a team coming off a week’s worth of rest.

Penn allowed its first goal of the season in the 36th minute to Old Dominion junior Taylor Smith and did not wait long to allow the second, with junior Jessie Klamut adding to the lead only two minutes later.

Down in a 2-0 hole, the Quakers started a comeback, and they got the ball rolling immediately, with freshman Lindsey Sawczuk scoring in the 42nd minute of action to pull Penn within one goal.

After the halftime break, Penn tied the game on a 60th minute goal from senior Kerry Scalora. This would mark the end of the scoring in regulation, leading to overtime.

“I think any time a team comes back from a deficit like that, [it] shows their abilities and a lot of resolve,” Ambrose said.

In the extra period, neither team was ultimately able to put the ball in the net, despite the Quakers outshooting Old Dominion 17-7 throughout the course of the game, once again showing the team’s strength on defense.

Scalora took the final shot of the game in the final minute of overtime, but it missed wide right, leading to the second draw for the Quakers on the weekend.

Penn did well to come back in this one to stave off defeat and remain undefeated on the young season.

“We learned a couple lessons about ourselves,” Ambrose said. “When we’ve been prodded and need to make a response, we’ve been able to.”

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