F. Hockey tops Owls

Penn beats Temple, 1-0 It started with Lafayette. Then Dartmouth. Next came Ursinus. West Chester. Harvard. The list of squads unable to defeat the Penn field hockey team keeps growing. Last night, the Quakers added national-power Temple to their hit list. Penn's 1-0 victory extended its recent undefeated streak to six games. The 14th-ranked Quakers (7-1-1) got a goal from senior defenseman Sue Quinn in the first half and then relied on their defense to carry them through a tough physical contest. "Temple is a very fast, very strong team," Penn coach Anne Sage said. "Penn really stepped up to match their physical play." In a game that saw players bouncing off one another on almost every contested ball, it is fitting the only tally came on a penalty corner. With 12 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the first half, just after the Owls (6-8) were whistled for a foul within the 20-yard box, senior defenseman Mandy Kauffman rolled the ball to senior midfielder Lily Ma, who tapped it to Quinn. Quinn wound up and blasted a shot low to the left side past diving Temple freshman goaltender Deb Brown to provide the Quakers with a 1-0 lead. The Penn offense would not score again. Credit Temple's tenacity and speed with shutting down the prolific Quaker attack. "They really set the pace for us," Penn coach Anne Sage said. "They seemed to be able to stop us." This is the first time any current Quaker has defeated the Owls, who had won the last four meetings. For Penn this victory symbolizes a step toward the eventual goal of national recognition. "This is definitely a huge encouragement," senior defenseman Rani Bajwa said. "We dominated them the last two years but couldn't seem to win. Now, we just went out confident and did what we wanted to do." The Quakers were hard pressed to do so. They relied heavily on the defense, especially the physical play of senior Melissa Sage and the on-field intelligence of Kauffman. "Mandy is just a rock back there," Bajwa said. "She has just excelled to the point where she is leading the team." This victory is certainly uplifting emotionally for the Quakers, who realize the true talent Temple possesses. "Temple's been playing top 10 teams," Penn senior goaltender Suzy Pures said. "That fact alone makes this a huge win. Their record may not show it, but they are a solid team. We know what a big win it is." So the streak just continues to build momentum. It has hit six in a row now, and with the added confidence of a win over Temple, there's no telling how long the list will grow. But as long as it does, the Quakers will certainly continue to ascend the national rankings in a rapid fashion.