Penn women's soccer played Villanova at Penn Park on Aug. 23, 2024.
Credit: Anna VazhaeparambilClasses don’t start until Tuesday, and the first wave of midterms are still several weeks away, but Penn women’s soccer faced its first test of the 2024 campaign Friday afternoon. Unfortunately for the Quakers, their grade was less than desired, as they fell 1-0 to Villanova (2-1).
For Penn (0-1), there is still plenty of time to improve before Ivy League play for a team that was picked to finish seventh in a preseason Ivy League poll and is coming off a disappointing 6-7-3 record from last season, including a 1-4-2 conference record. The Wildcats, meanwhile, have a two-game winning streak after routing Temple 4-0 last weekend.
Early in the game, the Wildcats set the tone with a relentless high press. The Quakers attempted to build their offense from the back, with junior goalkeeper Annabel Austen receiving just her second start for the Red and Blue. But quickly, the Quakers were swarmed by defenders in sky blue, forcing turnovers and creating chances for Villanova on the counterattack.
With this strategy, the Wildcats was able to notch several goal-scoring opportunities to open up the game. Villanova forward Madison Shumate had the game’s first shot in the fifth minute but saw her attempt go just wide of the net. By the time the Quakers generated their first shot — an effort by sophomore forward Mia Fuss nearly 18 minutes into the game — Villanova already had three shots and three corner kicks.
But whenever it appeared that the Wildcats had a chance on goal, Austen and the Quakers defense held firm. While Villanova had seven shots in the first half, only one of them was on goal, and Austen saved that one with ease.
However, this came at the expense of fouls, the most dangerous of which occurred with a minute left before halftime, as a Villanova player was dragged down right outside the penalty area and freshman defender Eden Veenema received a yellow card. Penn defended the set piece well, though, and the game entered halftime scoreless.
While Penn’s defense was firm in the first half, it cracked nearly instantly in the second. Just 18 seconds after play resumed, Wildcat midfielder Susanna Soderman put a shot past Austen and into the bottom corner of the net to give Villanova a 1-0 lead.
Now needing a goal, Penn became more aggressive offensively, challenging the Wildcats’ defense and creating chances in front of their goal. But nothing could get past Villanova goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson.
The two teams were quite evenly matched for much of the second half, each getting solid chances on the other’s goal. The Wildcats had a goal called back for offsides around the 60th minute, keeping their lead to just one and giving Penn a chance to at least tie.
With time winding down, Penn’s best chances came on a pair of corners, occurring with around two minutes left to play. The second corner found its way into Dickinson’s hands, and the Wildcats held firm for the remainder of play, sealing their 1-0 victory.
While the Quakers’ energy picked up as the game went on, the Wildcats had higher tallies in most areas of the stat sheet. They finished with 17 shots, four shots on goal, and 10 corners, compared to seven shots, one shot on goal, and just three corners for Penn.
The Quakers will be looking for their first win of the season later this weekend, when they visit Drexel on Sunday at 6 p.m. The two games against other schools in the Philadelphia area come before a Labor Day weekend trip to the Grand Canyon State, where Penn will face off against Northern Arizona and Arizona State.
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