W. Soccer | It's hail to the Kaiser at Rhodes

Last season, sophomore forward Kristin Kaiser clinched Penn's Ivy League crown with an overtime goal against Princeton.

On Saturday, Kaiser helped Penn take a strong first step toward defending its title with a 2-0 victory over Harvard at Rhodes Field.

"Its funny, Kristin is a kid who we've talked a little bit about why she's not more confident in herself because she's such a tremendous player," Penn coach Darren Ambrose said. "And tonight, big stage, and she showed it again."

Kaiser figured prominently in both the Quakers' goals. At 18:14, she took a long lead down the left side from Mara Fintzi, caught up to the pass just before reaching the back line and crossed it toward the goalmouth, where freshman Marin McDermott cleaned up for her second goal on the season.

At 72:21, freshman Ursula Lopez-Palm fed Kaiser with a quick touchpass, which led to a breakaway. Kaiser chipped the ball inside the far post past Harvard's charging goalkeeper, Lauren Mann, to put the game away. Kaiser's third goal on the season matched her total from last year.

"It's just great to get in the game and help out my team," said Kaiser, who came off the bench in all 18 matches as a freshman. "Obviously, it's great to be in the starting position. . I can't ask for more."

On the other side of the ball, Harvard was consistently stifled by a merciless Penn defense.

After a shot ricocheted off the crossbar in the opening minutes of the match, Harvard was limited to only three more shots - none on goal. Penn goalie Sara Rose did not even need to record a save to preserve the shutout.

"We just played great as a team, and we communicated with one another," senior captain Natalie Capuano said. "It became a lot easier to defend them."

The Quakers also seemed to come up with every loose ball, a result that Ambrose attributed to his team's experience in big Ivy matches.

"The team that wants to win the most is oftentimes the team that will come up with those [50-50 balls]," Ambrose said. "I think that turned the momentum of the game, especially in the last 20 minutes when they were trying to push."

In need of an equalizer, the Crimson managed a more composed attack in the second half, but they were unable to penetrate Penn's back line.

"They were definitely adjusting the whole game," Kaiser said. "They tried all different formations on us to try to break us, and we just held on and stuck to our game."

Although Kaiser and Ambrose said the team is finding a rhythm and gaining momentum, Ambrose cautioned that the season is far from over.

"As I said to the girls after the game, no one won the league tonight," Ambrose said. "Don't celebrate like you won the league; celebrate like you won an important game and understand that there's a lot more coming."

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