F. Hockey needs improved offense

For the members of the Penn field hockey squad, the 1994 season is slowly evolving into a classroom-style atmosphere. The subject -- spelling 101. The professor -- Penn coach Anne Sage. "We've got to start scoring," Sage said. "We need to go out and get some G-O-A-L-S -- Goals." The struggling offense has been let off the hook by stellar goaltending and tremendous defense. Penn will travel to Chase Field to face Dartmouth tomorrow afternoon at 1 in the Quakers' Ivy League season-opener. Dartmouth (2-2) has always been a tough opponent. Last season, it took a late second-half goal from Penn midfielder Amy Pine to break a scoreless tie and afford the Quakers (3-1) the victory on the carpet at Franklin Field. Last season, Dartmouth was a woeful 6-8-1, while Penn romped through the Ancient Eight on its way to an undefeated championship Ivy season. This year, the Quakers realize it could be a different scenario. "It's Dartmouth, so it's automatically a big game," Sage said. "You always have to be prepared to play an Ivy League opponent." The Big Green plays on a grass field, which may add to the Quakers' problems. Penn's last two games have been on grass surfaces, and the Quaker offense has faltered in each contest. Penn was pummeled 3-0 last weekend at Delaware, and needed a magical goal from senior Pine in overtime to defeat Lafayette 1-0 just two days ago. The Quakers chalked up their problems to inexperience on grass and their finesse style of play. However, they now acknowledge grass can no longer be an excuse. With two consecutive games on natural turf, the Quakers have had time to adapt. "We have suited our game to the grass pretty well," junior midfielder Jessica Gilhorn said. "It has slowed us down a bit before, but we're ready now." Penn's inability to play its style has allowed other teams to come at the Quakers a bit harder. "We have not been scoring as much as we'd like to score," Sage said. "It definitely hurts. We just need to come out and do it." Senior goaltender Suzy Pures has done just that so far. She has already posted two overtime shutout victories. "Our spirits were down after Delaware," Pures said, "but the Lafayette game lifted us. We're confident now because we know we have proven that we can play well as a team on grass." It now becomes just a matter of execution. "We've missed so many opportunities," Sage said, "but I think we're getting the hang of it. Of course, I don't know what else we can do." Maybe she should consider spelling it all out for her team.