W. Soccer storms back with late goal

The large crowd of 500 at Rhodes Field had given up.

The Penn women's soccer team, down, 1-0, to Princeton, looked like it was headed for a disappointing Homecoming loss on Saturday afternoon.

But the Quakers never gave up, and freshman Rebecca Weber brought the crowd to its feet.

Weber's goal after a cross from Ashley Glaubach knotted the score at one with a mere three minutes and 50 seconds left to play in the game. After two scoreless overtimes, the Quakers and No. 18 Princeton finished in a 1-1 tie.

"As soon as I turned [with the ball], I was just like, 'Oh, this is a goal,'" Weber said. "Then I thought, 'Oh my God, we tied it up, we have a chance again.'"

The game began with the Quakers looking sluggish, as the Tigers dominated control of the ball. And it looked like the Red and Blue had a 1-0 hole to dig out of after a shot by Princeton's Esmerelda Negron trickled past Penn goalkeeper Vanessa Scotto 25 minutes in.

However, the referee had blown the whistle moments earlier, as Jessica Woodward was whistled for a foul after pulling on Negron's jersey.

"Woody's foul was a good one," Penn coach Darren Ambrose said. "She saved a goal."

Late in the first half, as the game began to swing Penn's way, the Quakers nearly had a goal of their own when Rachelle Snyder fired a cross-field pass to Lauren Bome, who hit the post with her shot before the Tigers cleared it.

Penn and Princeton continued the back-and-forth in the second half, but the Tigers took the lead on a goal by Theresa Sherry on a third-chance effort with 18:19 left. It was a ball that the Quakers failed to clear.

As has happened the few times they have trailed in regulation this year, the Quakers fought back. Ambrose moved Weber -- usually a fullback -- up front for the final minutes, setting her up for her late-game heroics.

After Penn tied the score, the Tigers nearly took the lead with 30 seconds left, but Weber headed the ball away.

That jumpstarted a final Quakers attack, which ended with Katy Cross receiving the ball with only the goaltender to beat and 15 seconds to play. Princeton's Catherine Glenn made an amazing save on Cross, however, and the game went into overtime.

In the first overtime, the scenario repeated, as Cross took the ball in an exciting show of footwork but was unable to finish, as Glenn slid out and knocked the ball away.

"Normally, you give Katy two breakaway chances, you would say she'd score," Ambrose said. "But before she had the breakaway she got by five players... she was tired."

Princeton had the biggest chances in the second overtime, as Negron had two more almost-goals when a shot hit the crossbar four minutes in. Scotto robbed her of a goal with a diving save with three minutes left in the contest. It was one of many tough saves Scotto made throughout the afternoon.

"Once I get in [the goal], I just have blinders on, and I can't be nervous," Scotto said. "I really didn't think before I made any saves today."

The game was expected to be physical, as Princeton came into the game first in the Ivy League in fouls, with the Quakers third in that same category. It did not disappoint, as the two teams combined for 50 fouls on the day.

Throughout the game, especially during the overtimes, vocal members of the crowd expressed their concern over poor officiating. Ambrose disagreed with those concerns, but with reservations.

"Honestly, I thought the referee did a great job today," Ambrose said. "But I also feel that Princeton got away with a lot of fouls off the ball.

"It was a hard-fought game. Both teams raised their games, and it seemed fitting that it ended in a tie."

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