F. Hockey faces Tigers

Penn looks to stay perfect It isn't as huge as everybody thought it would be – but it is still Penn vs. Princeton. "We're not very fond of Princeton," junior goalie Suzy Pures said. "It would be nice to drive them into the ground. There's always been a rivalry. It would be nice to do them one." It originally appeared that tonight's game would be a season-ending showdown between the two best teams in the Ivy League to see which one would emerge as league champion and advance to the NCAA tournament. However, thanks to the Quakers (5-0 Ivy League, 10-4 overall) remaining undefeated and the Tigers (3-2, 11-3) being surprisedly knocked off twice already– first by Brown, then by Harvard – this outcome has already been decided. Having already wrapped up the title and the ensuing NCAA bid and relegating the Orange and Black to second best again, the No. 12 Penn field hockey team seeks to complete a perfect Ivy season when it hosts No. 18 Princeton tonight at Franklin Field (7:30 p.m.). Even though the outcome will not affect the league championship, a victory over Princeton would serve as a fitting end to the Quakers' impressive regular season. "[Penn coach Anne Sage] said we're not worthy of the Ivy title unless we beat Princeton," senior co-captain Franny Maguire said. "So we sort of have to beat Princeton. We're going to go out with intensity and play hard. We want to beat them really bad." "We already won the title, but it won't mean as much if we don't beat Princeton," Pures said. "If we're going to be champions I feel we should do it 100 percent." In addition to preserving an undefeated Ivy season, the Penn defense is also seeking to go through the entire league schedule without allowing a single goal. This would be another indication of the ease in which the Quakers have so far run right through the Ivies. Pures hopes simply to maintain her 0.00 goals against average in Ivy League play which speaks for itself. "We're all really looking for a shutout just to be able to say that nobody scored on us in the Ivy League," Pures said. "It's exciting, but I hope we don't go out with that on our minds because that can sort of jinx you too. It makes me nervous when people say something." Shutting out the Tigers will be a difficult task for the Penn defense. Princeton is the most explosive offensive team of any of the Ivy teams the Quakers have played thus far. The Tiger attack is led by freshman sensation Amy MacFarlane, who has scored 13 goals and posted six assists in only 14 games. Joining MacFarlane on the front line is Lisa Rebane, who has netted 10 goals of her own to go along with five assists. Despite these impressive credentials, if any defense is capable of shutting down the Tiger attack, it is Penn's. "We have our work cut out for us," Sage said. "Princeton is a very talented team. Princeton is going to come in here and try to knock us off. I anticipate a good, solid game." While the contest should be an exciting one, the Quakers no longer have the pressure of knowing that they must win to capture the Ivy crown. Still Penn expects to be fired up for the contest because the Tigers are the team that the Quakers have been gunning for all season. "We feel a lot more relaxed knowing that we already won the title," Maguire said. "But we're still going to go out just as hard because all season long we've been talking about Princeton and our coaches keep reminding us it's the next game you have to worry about, not Princeton. We're really psyched." For the seniors who will be playing their final Ivy League game tonight, ending on a winning note would be extremely special since the game is against Princeton. The only seniors on the back-to-back championship team, Maguire and Missy Hecht, have never lost to the Tigers and see no reason why that trend should change now. "We have to beat them," Maguire said. "Every year since I've been here, we've beaten Princeton. I don't want to lose." While the Quakers have accomplished their mission of defending the Ivy championship and qualifying for the NCAAs, they can make this season even sweeter by closing it out with a win over the Tigers. "The icing or the champagne will be putting it to Princeton," Sage said. "It's nice winning an Ivy title, but Princeton's going to come in hungry. That's going to be another challenge."