Coming off of their first loss to Cornell in 17 years, and their second of Ivy League play in as many games, the Red and Blue walked on to Rhodes Field on Friday with one thing in mind: their first conference win of the season.
A late first-half goal was enough to seal the 1-0 win over Columbia for Penn women’s soccer, which improves to a 5-3-2 record, 1-2-0 in the Ivy League. The goal came from freshman forward Jules Provini. The Quakers’ win ends the Lion’s (5-2-4, 1-1-1) two-game win streak in conference play.
Provini has scored two goals in as many matches to fuel Penn’s two-game winning streak. The Pennsylvania native has jumpstarted the quiet Quakers offense; her aggressive mindset within the box collapsing defenses.
Within the two-striker system, this sets up dangerous putbacks and second chances for the Red and Blue, or solid shots into the back of the net like Provini’s goal tonight.
The first half of play was characterized by battles for possession around midfield. The energetic contest found Penn 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 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 young 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 ten 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.
However, the always dangerous Penn offense didn’t allow Columbia to string a coherent attack together past that point, with Provini and fellow-freshman Kristen Miller threatening the Columbia defense on numerous occasions. The win came down to a matter of running out the clock for the Red and Blue in their best performance to date.
The Quakers will hope to keep their Rhodes Field winning streak alive when they take on Navy on Sunday at 1pm.
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