Penn women's soccer notches first Ivy victory

The weekend may not have ended how Penn women’s soccer wanted, but Friday went as well as it could have .

A late first-half goal was enough to seal the 1-0 win over Columbia for the Red and Blue on Friday, giving Penn its first Ivy win. However, Sunday ended fall break on a somber note as Navy came back to beat Penn, 2-1.

Friday’s win came in large part thanks to a goal from freshman forward Jules Provini. The Quakers’ victory ended the Lion’s (5-2-4, 1-1-1) two-game win streak in conference play.

The first half of play against Columbia was characterized by battles for possession around midfield. The energetic contest found Penn (5-4-2) dominating possession and proving to be the more dangerous side of the first half, outshooting the Lions, 6-3, forcing Columbia to make two saves in the first 45 minutes alone.

Defensively, the Quakers looked as sharp as ever, preventing the Lions from creating any real threat on goal. Junior goalkeeper Kalijah Terilli’s aggressive defensive stops off line and out of the box anchored the defense.

Ultimately, the pressure from the Quakers’ offense proved to be too much for Columbia. In the 38th minute, a right side cross from fellow freshman Jill Kennedy, a natural defender playing forward in the Penn’s two-striker system, connected with fellow striker Provini for a beautiful header over Columbia’s 6-foot-2 senior goalkeeper Grace Redmon.

The Penn-dominated first half was in the books with a 1-0 lead for the Quakers.

The second half showed a much more aggressive Lions squad. The half started with a back and forth for the ball around midfield again, but Columbia began to dominate possession. However, Penn’s suffocating defense allowed for no real threats on three Columbia shots 10 minutes into the half.

The Lions’ best attempt came in the 68th minute, as a string of headers and deflections off of a right side cross showcased Terilli’s reflexes in goal. That would basically be all from Columbia, as Terilli and the Red and Blue took down the Lions.

On Sunday, Penn once again got out in front early, this time against Navy.

In the 17th minute, a corner kick from junior midfielder Erin Mikolai was punched into the net by Navy sophomore goalkeeper Dayton Wetherby for an own goal.

But unlike Columbia, the Mids would answer.

Just two minutes later, Navy’s Caprice Kelty shot a ball between Terilli’s legs to tie the score. Neither squad could break the tie in the first half.

A cross from the left side was put in by Lily Kraemer in the sixth minute, giving Navy the lead and what became the game-winning goal.

The Quakers played evenly with the Mids, put up the same number of shots and only one fewer shot on goal. However, it was ultimately not enough.

Penn will look to win its second Ivy match of the year when the Quakers travel to Dartmouth on Saturday. The Big Green have come away with three ties in three Ivy matches so far this year.

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