W. Soccer win streak ends in tie with Hawks

Every good team hits a speedbump in the road once in a while.

Yesterday, the Penn women's soccer team went over that bump, playing sluggish and slow in a 1-1 tie with Monmouth.

"We just came out flat," Penn coach Darren Ambrose said. "We didn't look like we wanted to play."

The Hawks (9-4-2) came out with a specific game plan, playing more physical than the smaller, younger Quakers (10-1-2).

That plan struck gold when, at the 20:13 mark, Monmouth's Valerie Leininger knocked the ball past Penn goalkeeper Vanessa Scotto to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

It was only the third game all season in which the Quakers have trailed.

"We really should have cleared that ball out of the zone," Ambrose said. "Our team lacked composure in front of the goal on both ends today."

As has been the case all season, the Quakers were not down for long. Putting together a counterattack after the Hawks' first goal, freshman Devon Sibole crossed a perfect pass to fellow newcomer Libby Bersot, who struck the ball into the back of the net one minute and 55 seconds later.

That would be all the offense in the contest, as the Quakers blew several chances in the second half, sending the game into overtime.

Both squads were tired in the overtime period, and the Quakers had no notable chances to win. Scotto made a great save on a corner kick in the first overtime to salvage the tie.

The Quakers again struggled to finish in the box, as has been their problem all season. They also had difficulties switching the field, as the Hawks' scrappy attack held them on one side of the field constantly, hampering Penn's usually potent offense.

Even though the Hawks played a more physical game, the Quakers amassed 17 fouls to Monmouth's eight. And despite winning the shot battle 24-13, the Red and Blue only totaled eight shots on goal.

Those were not the only problems for the Quakers. Junior tri-captain Jen Valentine did not make the trip to New Jersey after straining her quad last weekend.

"Yes, we were injured, but we can't use that as an excuse," Ambrose said. "We had people out on the field.... Having injured players didn't cost us a win."

In addition to Valentine's ailment, Rachelle Snyder, Penn's leading scorer, was hampered with a knee injury, defense anchor Heather Issing struggled with a foot problem and last year's Defender of the Year, Sarah Campbell, continued to be slowed with an Achilles' injury.

The Quakers also played the last three minutes of the contest down one player, as freshman Jessica Papesh drew a red card at the 117-minute mark.

"It was just one of those games," Ambrose said. "We didn't get the break today, and we didn't put our chances away."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.