ON THE SIDELINES: F. Hockey is a fine-tuned machine

Some of the connections may have been a little rusty in the Quakers' 3-0 victory over St. Joseph's Saturday afternoon. But make no mistake about it -- the Penn field hockey team proved it is a precision machine, and the tuning will only get finer. "They're playing smart hockey," Penn coach Anne Sage said. "They know what they have to do and they don't panic. Today was just the beginning. They're just a polished team and they're very, very talented. It looked almost effortless." So effortless, in fact, it was almost eerie. The more experienced Quakers moved the Hawks around the field like pawns on a chessboard, negating St. Joe's speed advantage with superior communication and positioning. "We controlled the game so well because we have a lot of experience under our belts and a lot of talent," senior Lily Ma said. "It's not so much our individual skills and the individuals, but the fact that we use teamwork out there." In particular, Penn demonstrated an uncanny knack for stepping into passing lanes between St. Joe's backs and midfielders and earning easy transition opportunities. Early in the first half with the Quakers still jittery and out of sync, junior forward Amy Shapiro appeared to come out of nowhere and intercept a swing pass between two Hawks backs. Shapiro broke away and juked a third St. Joe's defender before being stopped at the cage. Though Shapiro didn't score, the play shifted the momentum and seemed to settle the Quakers. While Shapiro's play appeared to be a spectacular individual effort, it was a calculated result of solid team defense, perfectly executed by two veteran players. "One of the things we've been working on a lot this year from last year is our team defense and having the person who's on the ball take away a side," Shapiro said. "Kara [Philbin] was on the left and I just let her know I was on the right and told her to force it my way. Kara took away the left, so I just stepped up knowing the ball was going to come that way." "Usually we use the second layer of our team to direct the first layer," Penn assistant coach Donna Mulhern said. "They'll yell to take away one option and the ball gets passed right where we're expecting it. It makes it a lot easier to end up in the right spot." Penn's defensive pressure dictated the style of play, forcing the Hawks to abandon the short passing game St. Joe's is accustomed to using in favor of a big-ball strategy which uses more long, downfield passes. "We like the big ball whereas St. Joe's likes to use the little passes," senior Lily Ma said. "By denying that to them, we broke them down and all they could do was run on to the ball." Offensively, the Quakers looked tentative in the early going as passes missed their marks and mishits were common. But again, Penn showed its poise by making necessary adjustments and learning from its mistakes. On the first Quakers corner, St. Joe's fleet flier reached the edge of the circle before the ball could be dead stopped and senior Amy Pine could get off a clean shot. On the next corner, Pine instead tapped it to junior Sue Quinn and allowed the Hawk flier to go streaking past. Quinn then fed it back to Pine, who hammered home Penn's second goal. It was a slick play, flawlessly executed. And that was the difference in the game. St. Joe's quickness was no match for the Quakers talent, experience and efficiency. As the game wore on, the Hawks grew tired and frustrated while the Penn machine just rolled on.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.