Penn field hockey hopes to avoid trap games

Wednesday marks the onset of another week of battle for one of the Red and Blue’s premier fall teams, as Penn field hockey looks to add another pair of results to the win column when it hosts Villanova on Wednesday and Sacred Heart on Sunday.

Since a tough season-opening loss to 13th-ranked Liberty, the Quakers (3-1) have rebounded nicely, securing important victories over Longwood, Saint Joe’s and Temple. They sit atop the Ivy League in non-conference record and hold a sizable lead in the Ancient Eight with their 4.3 goals per game.

After an impressive statement win from Penn on Sunday, coach Colleen Fink recognizes that the tilt against Temple was an important learning experience for the squad. The defense essentially bailed the offense out of a tough contest and ultimately afforded the squad a positive result.

Entering Wednesday, the margin of error decreases. At the top of a shortlist of necessary improvements is the need to play a more disciplined game in the defensive zone, where the Quakers have let up a “cluster” of penalty corner opportunities. Villanova will surely look to capitalize on Penn’s defensive trials.

The Wildcats (1-4) look to upset the Quakers in what could easily be a trap game for the team. For Penn, overlooking opponents is an unacceptable practice. Fink is a fan of the parity that her sport offers and is confident that her players understand that there is no transitivity.

“Everyone wants to win every game. You can’t step on the field and anticipate that the other team doesn’t think that they’re capable of winning,” Fink said. “That’s why you play the game. That’s the beauty of it. That’s why this whole ‘any given Sunday’ exists. I think it’s important that you never overlook anybody.”

From an offensive perspective, Villanova can be deceptive. Even though they have scored only two goals per game, the Wildcats’ shooting statistics — over 18 shots per contest — are an incredibly impressive mark.

“They’re definitely a ‘big ball’ team. They’re out of the back, they’re hitting the ball in the front,” senior attack Elizabeth Hitti said. “I think something we’ve been working on a lot is our defensive mentality, and with that defensive mentality is limiting the entry balls in the circle, limiting the shots that get off in the circle, limiting the corners.

“And if we can put all of that together tomorrow, which I know we can, then we can definitely keep Villanova out of the area where those big balls, so to speak, would be a threat.”

On the attack, the Quakers look to keep up the quality of their chances while upping the quantity. The team’s 32.1 percent shooting clip is impressive, but likely unsustainable for an entire season.

On top of that, Penn is about to go up against Villanova’s talented goalkeeper, freshman Erika Miller. The Wildcats’ keeper ranks second in the nation among freshmen in save percentage (73.9) and holds the lead in saves per game (6.8).

Part of Penn’s offensive success rests on the shoulders of sophomore attacker Alexa Hoover, who will look to maintain her nation-leading 2.8 goals per game pace. She has a monopoly over weekly Ancient Eight honors, earning Ivy League Player of the Week nods in both of the season’s opening weeks.

It goes without saying that Hoover is not the sole cause for her 11 goals. She constantly praises her teammates for setting her up with top-notch opportunities. Fink shares these sentiments and credits a lot of the team’s offensive success to the team’s other contributors.

“I think it was fantastic to see Elizabeth Hitti step up and score a game-winner on Sunday,” Fink said. “And that shows and provides evidence that our offensive players are capable of [contributing offensively]. We’re not a one-man show.

“I think Elizabeth can score goals. I think we have some people that can score goals in our attacking penalty corners, [senior midfielder] Alex Agathis being one of them, [freshman midfielder] Selena Garzio being another. [Junior attacker] Elise Tilton can attribute offensively. I think [sophomore attacker] Gina Guccione can contribute offensively.”

The Red and Blue will also take on Sacred Heart on their home AstroTurf on Sunday. True to her word, Hitti takes everything one game at a time. When asked about the team’s preparation, the captain admitted her focus on the task at hand, “I haven’t [yet] thought about Sacred Heart.”

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