A week after Penn men’s soccer returned to Rhodes Field in electrifying fashion, Penn women’s soccer ultimately couldn’t replicate the magic.
In the team’s first game at home this season, the Red and Blue were unable to net their first victory of the season, drawing Towson 1-1.
“The result is disappointing,” coach Krissy Turner said. “But I think the first half was really good. Second half not so much.”
In the previous five games, Penn (0-3-3) recorded a combined 14 shot attempts in the first half. Against the Tigers, the Quakers employed a more aggressive approach, racking up 13 shots in the opening frame of play. The first shot came in the second minute off an effort from senior Megan Lusher that forced Towson goalkeeper Riley Melendez to fully extend to deny Penn the early one-goal lead.
Lusher established the tone and Penn largely controlled the tempo of the game. Even so, the Tigers showed why they have already recorded two wins on the season. In the 12th minute, Towson's Brooke Birrell fired off a ferocious corner kick, but an impressive reaction from junior goalkeeper Annabel Austen kept the game knotted at zero.
The speed of sophomore forward Mia Fuss was able to flip the script immediately, as a fast counter won Penn a corner of its own on the other end of the field. Melendez was forced to come out of her goal to deal with the swung-in ball, and the ball bounced dangerously around in the six-yard box with an open goal, but the Quakers were ultimately unable to convert.
Penn’s high pressure on attack eventually paid off, as a foul in the box against Towson forward Demi Pierre in the 22nd minute earned the Red and Blue a penalty-kick, taken by freshman forward Lily White. Despite a well placed ball, Melendez read it the entire way, and the ball lacked enough pace to get by.
However, Penn did not let the miss affect its game plan, continuing to apply intense offensive pressure. In the 40th minute, senior forward Janae Stewart found herself with space at the top of the box. The cross found sophomore forward Abbey Cook crashing at the back post. Cook wasted no time burying the ball in the back of the net to give Penn a well-deserved one-goal lead heading into the halftime break.
As the second half opened up, Penn continued its high-paced attack. However, now chasing a goal down, Towson came out with far greater intensity on its own movement forward. The change rewarded the Tigers with a shot from forward Kale'a Perry that missed just wide right of the goal in the fifth minute of play.
With time winding down, tempers flared on both sides of the ball. On a Towson corner kick in the 24th minute, the kick was delayed on three separate occasions as the referee issued warnings to three different pairs of players. When the corner kick was finally taken, it was a moment of panic for the Red and Blue as Austen was forced to come out of the goal to push it out of the path of a crashing Tiger.
The goal now empty, Towson was inches away from finding the equalizer as the shot bounced off of the top of the woodwork. Ultimately, the Quakers were able to regroup on defense and clear the ball with the lead still intact. With just seven minutes to play, the Red and Blue earned yet another penalty kick opportunity as Fuss was leveled by Towson defender Maja Hansson. This time, sophomore midfielder Leah Finkelman stepped up to the spot, but Melendez once again read the ball placement saved the kick.
The missed penalty kicks ultimately came to haunt Penn as Towson midfielder Chiara Menegatti finally scored the equalizer with just four minutes to play to level the game.
“It doesn't necessarily change the momentum as much as it just gives the other team a sense of belief,” Turner said. “We let a team hang around that has belief and credit to them, they probably should have scored two goals.”
After the brief stay at home, Penn women’s soccer will take to the road again as it travels down to Annapolis, Md. to face off against Navy this Thursday at 7 p.m. There, the Quakers will continue to look for their first win of the season.
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