F. Hockey just keeps winning

Quakers face Owls tonight The Penn field hockey team entered Saturday's home Ivy League contest against Harvard looking to prove it still controlled the Ancient Eight. By the time the final buzzer sounded, Harvard was convinced. The Quakers continued the offensive outburst that began three games ago. They carried the play from the outset and drubbed the overmatched Crimson, 5-2. "They're having so much fun out there," Penn coach Anne Sage said. "It was an enjoyable game, and we just did a great job on them." The Quakers ride a wave of momentum into tonight's game at 7:30 against Temple at Franklin Field. In its last three contests, Penn (6-1-1, 1-0-1 Ivy League) has outscored opponents 15-4. During that span, senior midfielder Amy Pine has notched six goals, including two on corners against Harvard. "It's nice to see the players developing in these games," Sage said. "They have all been playing extremely well, and now they are just playing with incredible confidence." Penn led the entire way, taking 16 shots against Harvard senior goaltender Jessica Milhollin, who had shut out Cornell in her last outing. Pine put the Quakers on the board first with her eighth goal of the season off a corner just more than 12 minutes into the game. "It's nice to see the corners working again," Sage said. "We had some trouble at the beginning of the season, but like everything else, the corners have really come around." Carrying a 3-1 lead into the second half, courtesy of another Pine tally as well as a goal from junior midfielder Amy Shapiro, Penn relaxed, allowing the Crimson to sneak back into the contest. "What happened was only natural," Sage said. "We still managed to dominate them, but we let up a bit." With 33 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the contest, Harvard's Carrie Shumway was awarded a penalty shot. She took full advantage, burning Penn senior goaltender Suzy Pures to draw Harvard to within one, 3-2. But just 1:04 later, junior forward Kara Philbin helped the Quakers reclaim control of the game. Philbin scorched virtually the entire population of Cambridge on her way to the Crimson cage, giving Penn a 4-2 lead. "Kara's goal was huge," Sage said. "We relaxed a bit, and they came at us. But we stopped the bleeding. "It was a perfect example of what we've been talking about all season. We're six weeks into it now, and we're really starting to see it. The individual confidence flows into team confidence, and one person can pick the team up." The Quakers are flying high, riding their solid defense and potent offense to a five-game undefeated streak entering tonight's 7:30 contest against Temple at Franklin Field. The Owls (6-7) ended last season at No. 15 in the country, but more importantly, Temple defeated Penn 2-1 in overtime to continue its mastery of the Quakers. The Owls have won the past four meetings. "We have been inconsistent this year so far," Temple coach Lauren Fuchs said. "Right now, we're looking for a big win against a top 20 team to get us back on track." Of course, Penn feels it has something to prove. A victory over Temple for the first time in five years may make the nation take notice. That is, if other field hockey programs haven't heard the rumblings in West Philly over the last few weeks, when the Quakers have been 4-0-1.