F. Hockey stays perfect in Ivies

The Penn field hockey team remained undefeated in the Ivy League and took over sole possession of first place by knocking off Cornell 2-0 on Saturday. The Quakers jumped ahead of the Big Red early and established total control of the game on their way to their third shutout in as many Ivy games. The win also vaulted the Quakers (3-0 Ivy League, 8-3 overall) into the No. 12 spot in the national rankings. With Yale's surprising 1-0 victory over Brown this weekend, the Quakers are now the only unbeaten team in Ivy play. Penn has outscored its Ivy opponents 4-0 in its three games so far this season. Penn jumped ahead of the Big Red (1-2, 5-5) early when sophomore forward Kara Philbin took a pass from sophomore forward Amy Shapiro and fired a shot past Cornell goalkeeper senior Amy Wright to put the Quakers ahead 1-0. Philbin's goal proved to be the game-winner as the Big Red failed to find a way to put the ball past Quaker goalie junior Suzy Pures. Pures continued her incredible play on the season. She has yet to give up a goal in league play – the only goalie with such a distinction in the Ivy League. "We got off to a good start," Penn assistant coach Val Cloud said. "That helped us because we haven't really scored early. It helped relax us. We had the pressure on them." Shapiro netted the Quakers' second goal of the game after halftime. The goal was insurance for Penn, as it went in front of Cornell 2-0. The Quakers had several other opportunities to put more goals on the board – including an astounding 15 penalty corners – but numerous Quaker chances went for naught. A large reason for this was the solid performance turned in by Wright who recorded 22 saves on the day. "We had trouble putting the ball in the cage," Cloud said. "Their keeper is very good. I thought we might score a few more. The game looks closer than it was." Despite the missed chances, Penn was more than content to emerge from the weekend as the only undefeated team in the Ivy League. The Quakers are now halfway through their Ivy schedule and they have still yet to allow a goal. However, being alone in first place brings along the responsibility of knowing that every other Ivy team is going to be gunning for them. "It's a great feeling," senior co-captain defender Missy Hecht said. "The defense played really tough. We definitely had a lot of opportunities to score. Now every Ivy team has a loss except for us. Every Ivy team is going to want to give us a loss now." Another incentive for opposing teams is that the Quakers are now the No. 12 team in the country. Penn moved up three spots in this week's poll after going 1-1. Aside from the Cornell victory, the Quakers dropped their other contest to No. 9 Temple in a tightly-contested 2-1 overtime game. Additionally, Princeton (2-1, 8-2) also moved up to No. 17 in the poll. The Tigers will do battle with Penn in a season-ending showdown on November 2 which could have a lot to say in determining who gets the automatic NCAA bid. But the Quakers know that they have to take care of business along the way as they still have to play both Brown and Yale. "Personally what I'm trying to concentrate on is not going out there not to lose but to win," Hecht said. "That's the hardest part, knowing that you're defending your title and knowing that everyone is looking to come at you. But I think our team is ready."