F. Hockey on raod at Ursinus

When the Penn field hockey team faced Ursinus last year, it was 4-1 with an Ivy win over Dartmouth under its belt. This year's team is also 4-1, has also beaten the Big Green, and travels to Collegeville, Pa., to face the Bears this afternoon with the hope that history will repeat itself, this time in the form of last year's 2-0 win that vaulted the Quakers into the top 20. Penn is in perfect position to achieve that national recognition again, as the Quakers are the only team in the "Also receiving votes" section of this week's poll. The Quakers have won three straight games against Ursinus, but this year's Bear team (2-5-1) looks like it's prepared to mount a tougher challenge, having already beaten a strong Villanova squad 2-1, a team that Penn defeated 3-2 earlier this season. "We love to have the challenge of matching up against Ursinus," Penn coach Anne Sage said. "They're always ready to play. They have the same kind of outstanding legacy at Ursinus. There used to be two powerhouse schools, West Chester and Ursinus, that were local. It's just good local competition with strong tradition, like Lafayette." Today is the first game of a six-game, three-week stretch of road games that includes trips to face No. 1 Penn State and No. 10 Temple as well as regional foe West Chester, not to mention crucial Ivy games against Cornell and Harvard, which Penn played to a scoreless draw for the only blemish on the Quakers' Ivy record last year. It seems possible that the matchup against Ursinus could get lost in the shuffle. "[Assistant coach Val Cloud] always reminds us that the most important game is the next," junior goalie Suzy Pures said. "You don't look ahead toward Penn State or Harvard or anything else. It's just the next game that's the most important. That's how you have to look at it." One factor that may make Penn's task more difficult is the Bears' natural grass field. The Quakers have played all of their games so far on the rug of Franklin Field, but have been practicing on grass all week. "People always ask what the difference is between grass and turf," Sage said. "I think the execution is a little different. If you play on [astroturf, the play of the ball] is very consistent, where on grass fields such as theirs it's inconsistent, so you have to make adjustments. I think we'll make the adjustments. It just takes a little bit of time." This game should give Penn a chance to work on a number of aspects of its game that have been bothersome. These would include the chronic lack of goal scoring, as well as the defense's recurring vulnerability to opposing breakaways. As far as the offense goes, the fact that it has had its chances to score allays some of the doubts that may exist within the team. "I just think we've got to set the tempo, rather than let the other team dictate it," Sage said. "I think that's important. If they play a slow game we play down to them. We've just got to come out and take control of the ball and score." Of more concern to Sage is that the defense has been spending so much time on offense that it hasn't had to play much actual defense. "They're working together better," Sage said. "I think they have to recognize that they have to get deeper to keep the ball in front of them. They can't let the ball get behind them. We just haven't played more pressure defense because we've controlled the games." Considering that the Quakers have controlled their games so far, it seems surprising that the team's attitude toward its play is often negative. Then again, this is a team with very high expectations for itself. Those expectations are reflected in the fact that even while the Quakers were grumbling that their defense was problematic, the Ivy League named Pures Ivy Player of the Week on the basis of her two shutouts. At any rate, a big win against Ursinus would erase many of those negative attitudes. "[A win over the Bears] would really boost our confidence a lot because our play really isn't that bad, but it's not as good as it can be," Pures said. "Obviously, it's been good enough to win, but it's not as good as our standards have been set." Penn would love to achieve those lofty goals beginning today at Ursinus. However, it's going to have to do it on the road. "It's nice to have your home field and your home fans, but I don't think [the road] really effects anybody that much," Pures said. "Personally, I enjoy the road trips, so I don't mind."