Penn women's soccer played Arizona and Arizona State on Aug 29 and Sep 1.
Credit: Sydney CurranIt was a battle against the elements for Penn women’s soccer this weekend as it took on both Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University in the Grand Canyon State. Coming up against some strong programs, the Quakers come back home with a 1-1 tie against NAU and a 3-0 loss to ASU.
On Thursday night, the battle was against elevation. Northern Arizona University (0-1-2) plays its home games in Lumberjack Stadium, which is located at an elevation of 6,880 feet. The impacts were evident, as Penn (0-3-1) struggled for much of the first half adjusting to the way the ball moved differently. Despite the forwards making a dangerous run behind the NAU defensive line, the Quakers were unable to connect that final pass to set the team up for a goal.
“Because of the altitude being at 7,000 feet, the ball was just traveling a little different,” coach Krissy Turner said. “[It was] skipping and bouncing, just a little more than we're accustomed to. So I do think it took us a little bit of time to sort of settle into the game.”
As the half progressed, Penn found its footing, and it took a fully extended NAU goalkeeper Trinity Corcoran save to deny sophomore forward Mia Fuss of the game-opening goal in the 38th minute. After starting the first two games and struggling, Fuss came in as a substitute against NAU where her speed and ability to make the correct runs to dissect the opposing backline provided an immediate impact.
Coming out of halftime, the early-game jitters were out of Penn’s system. Once again, Fuss had a great look at goal only to be denied by yet another impressive save from Corcoran. Despite the Quakers knocking at the doorstep, it was ultimately the Lumberjacks who scored first. In the 79th minute, NAU forward McKenzie Coleman was able to slip her shot from far out into the bottom right corner of the net after the ball took a deflection on its way there.
“There's no quit in this group,” Turner said. “But it was unfortunate because it was a deflection. From a defensive perspective, we were pretty organized. That moment can definitely be a killer for [the team], but we didn't want it to be that, and that's part of our identity.”
The team’s persistence and patience paid off. With just seconds left on the clock away from picking, a last ditch effort from sophomore forward Abbey Cook drew the whistle for the potential game-tying penalty kick. Sophomore midfielder Leah Finkelman sent goalie Corcoran the wrong way to secure the team its first positive result of the season.
“In soccer you can create your own breaks based on how hard you compete and how hard you work,” Turner said. “And I thought we created many great opportunities, so I think in a way, that was rewarding us for the 89 minutes and 59 seconds that we hadn't scored, and giving a little bit of the game back to us.”
The turnaround was fast, as the team immediately turned its attention to its Sunday afternoon matchup against an undefeated Arizona State team (4-0-2). This time, the major battle was the 105-degree weather.
The pace of the game matched the weather as both teams moved the ball up and down the field with energy. In the fifth minute of the game, the Sun Devils caught a lucky bounce of the ball off a corner kick, and Penn was fortunate to see ASU midfielder Addison Haws fluff her shot above the crossbar.
The Quakers weren’t as lucky in the 24th minute when the ball was ultimately turned into the back of the net by ASU forward Kierra Blundell. The goal came off of yet another corner kick where the ball bounced around in the six-yard box after Penn failed to clear the ball cleanly. In the process was a goal line clearance, but it was ultimately for nought as the Sun Devils opened up the scoring.
Just three minutes later, an ill-timed tackle from Penn sophomore forward Taylor Ferraro gifted Arizona State the opportunity to double its lead off a penalty kick. Penn junior goalkeeper Annabel Austen went the right way, but she stood no chance against Blundell’s pace and placement. The two teams went into the halftime break with the Sun Devils leading by two.
In the second half, Penn had the better of chances to get on the scoreboard, but its inability to finish came back to haunt the team. Blundell rounded out her hat trick in the 69th minute to give the Sun Devils a three-goal lead. Penn managed to create a flurry of chances in the final minutes of the game, but it was not enough as ASU goalkeeper Pauline Nelles saw out the clean sheet for the Sun Devils.
“It was a game of two halves,” Turner said. “In the first half, we came out very slow and gave up two goals off set pieces, which put us in a 2-0 hole. Against the level of the team that we were playing against, [it] was too big of a hole to overcome.”
Moving forward, the team will also be looking to improve when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net, which the team has struggled with this year. Now four games into the season, the Red and Blue have only managed to score twice despite plenty of chances to do so.
“We need to find ways to create more chances to score,” Turner said. “We're four games in, and we've only scored one goal that was not a penalty.”
Penn women’s soccer continues its streak of road games as the Quakers face off against Delaware in Newark on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m.
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