March 28, 2024

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PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women’s soccer team continued its unbeaten run at Rhodes Field under head coach Casey Brown, defeating city rival Villanova on Thursday night, 2-0. It also marked the Quakers’ third straight shutout on its home pitch.
 
Penn improved to 4-1-2 on the season and 4-0-0 at home, while the Wildcats fell to 6-2-0.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn has not given up a goal at home since the 21:12 mark of the first match with George Mason on August 29, a span of 338:48 of match time.
 
*This was Penn’s third straight victory over Villanova—the others coming in 2010 and 2011—after the Quakers went 0-11-1 against the Cats from 1991-2008.
 
*Junior Sizzy Lawton was the story on Thursday night. She was knocking on the door for much of the first half and it paid off just after the half-hour mark when she netted her first goal of 2021.
 
*Lauren Teuschl, whose free kick into the area was cleaned up by Lawton, was credited with an assist on the play.
 
*Turnabout was fair play in the second half, as Lawton assisted Teuschl’s goal in the 77th minute.
 
*The duo both have four assists so far this season, tied for the team lead. Teuschl is also tied for the team lead with 10 points (3g/4a) along with senior Mia Shenk (5g).
 
*Behind a stout defensive effort, sophomore Laurence Gladu reached the five-save mark for the third time in four matches on Thursday night in collecting the clean sheet.
 
How It Happened
In the first match between these programs in a decade, Lawton was the difference.
 
She set the tone early on by rocketing a shot off the crossbar, then found paydirt a short time after that when she cleaned up Teuschl’s free kick and converted a low-angle shot from her preferred left foot in the 32nd minute.

The players reversed roles for the second goal, giving the Red and Blue a cushion with just 13 minutes left in the match. A Villanova clearance went straight to Lawton near the midfield circle. The junior picked up speed to go past a Wildcat defender, then fed a short pass to Teuschl who turned, teed it up and uncorked a howitzer that beat VU keeper Megan McClay to the upper right corner.

At the other end, Gladu had arguably her strongest game so far at Penn in goal. She controlled her area and made five saves to earn the shutout.

Up Next
Penn is back at home on Sunday afternoon, hosting Rice (which improved to 7-1-1 with a 2-1 win at UTEP on Thursday) on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
 

#FightOnPenn

 
 


https://pennathletics.com/news/2021/9/16/lawton-leads-womens-soccer-past-villanova-2-0.aspx