Box score
PHILADELPHIA—Clara Midgley came off the University of Pennsylvania bench to score a hat trick and lead the Quakers to an 8-0 win over visiting NJIT in non-conference women's soccer Wednesday night.
Penn, now 10-2, won its 10th straight match since opening the season at 0-2 and dominated every phase of the game to go to 7-0 at home, outscoring its seven guests by a combined 23-1. The Highlanders fell to 2-11 with the defeat in their final non-conference game of 2011.
In addition to Midgley, the Quakers got two goals apiece from Callan Parra, another reserve, and from starter Marin McDermott. Para also had an assist. The remaining Penn goal was scored by starter Kathryn Barth, who also collected a game-high three assists. Laura Oliver, yet another backup, added three assists off the bench and starter Claire Walker finished with one assist. In total, Penn had eight assists to go with its eight goals, two of which were penalty kicks.
Penn finished with 24 total shots, 16 of which were on target. NJIT took three shots, none on goal. For the Highlanders,
Anna Kornmuller played the whole game in goal and made eight saves. Three players shared the shutout for the Quakers and none was needed for an save. Starter Sarah Banks played the entire first half in goal for the winners. Caroline Williams came on at the break and played 34 minutes before yielding to Katherine Myrhe, who finished up the last 11 minutes.
Asked to name a player who performed well in the loss, NJIT coach Sergio Gonzalez cited Kornmuller. "She kept us in the game as much as she could," said the coach of the sophomore keeper. "She made some good saves and I couldn't fault her on any of the goals. She did the best she could."
The game was scoreless into the 21st minute, but McDermott got things started for Penn on a penalty kick at 20:12 and she picked up her second goal just over three minutes later, tapping the ball in from the far post off a cross, assisted by Oliver and Barth at 23:23.
The score stayed at 2-0 until 35:54, when the proverbial roof caved in on the Highlanders, as the Quakers poured in three more goals in the final 9:06 before halftime. Midgley got her first goal, driving home a rebound, with assists going to Oliver and Barth in the 36th minute. Parra scored the first of her brace of goals on a 25-yarder, assisted by Barth at 38:32 and Barth, who had assisted on the previous three goals, got into the goal-scoring column with an assist from Oliver 20 seconds from halftime.
Penn, which had a 15-0 advantage in first-half shots, added three more goals after the break. Midgley, who had one goal in the opening 45, completed her hat trick with a goal at 55:51, assisted by Parra, and then a penalty kick goal at 79:45. Parra closed the scoring with her second goal of the night and fourth of the season on a feed from Walker 2:44 from the final whistle.
"We gave up two penalties and we didn't clear two balls and they made us pay," said Gonzalez. "If you spot a good team four goals, what we saw is the kind of thing that happens.
"The thing is, for the first 25 minutes, we played some good soccer. But when you give a team like (Penn) the kind of opportunities we gave them, this can happen.
Penn, the 2010 Ivy League champion, will pursue a repeat title and return trip to the NCAA Division I College Cup tournament field.
NJIT will play its remaining five regular season games in the Great West Conference beginning with a 1 pm road game against South Carolina State on Saturday. The contest will be played at the University of South Carolina Aiken.
"Our job now is to bounce back and be ready for Saturday," Gonzalez said of his team that is 1-0 in conference play. "That (the Penn game) was our last non-conference game. Now our total focus has to be on the Great West."
