F. Hockey wins as seniors leave

She has done it countless times before. Unfortunately for the Penn field hockey team, she will never do it again on Franklin Field. She is Penn superstar midfielder Amy Pine. In another routine contest, Pine scored the lone goal in a 1-0 Penn victory over Yale Saturday at Franklin Field. In the final home contest of a brilliant stretch of four years for the eight current seniors, Pine notched her 12th goal of the season, her fourth game-winner to lead the Quakers (9-4-1, 3-1-1 Ivy League). Pine's 33rd career goal, good for third on the all-time Penn scoring list, places her just two goals behind Nicky Hitchens and Ellen Vagelos for second. "Amy has just been wonderful for us," Penn coach Anne Sage said. "I have loved coaching her and watching her development. She is really an incredible field hockey talent." Pine, whose first-half tally was all the Quakers would need, was not the only hero. Senior goalkeeper Suzy Pures, who has been inconsistent at times, was a brick wall, stopping everything the Elis threw at her. She recorded her fifth shutout of the season. The Penn defense, anchored by seniors Mandy Kauffman, Rani Bajwa and Melissa Sage, shut down the Elis attack, limiting Yale to minimal shots and time of possession. The Quakers seemed to let down a bit after the half, as they have so frequently this season. The offense faltered, but the defense held its ground. "Our defense has always played well," Sage said. "We have come to depend on them, and they have delivered, game in and game out, all season. They've just always played phenomenally." It is no coincidence the slight mental lapses in the defensive end occurred during the few games the Quakers dropped this season. Penn has only surrendered eight goals this season. Five were scored in the four Quakers losses. "Defensive letdowns have hurt us," Sage said. "Fortunately they have not occurred that often." It is hard to imagine disappointment in the locker room of a 9-4-1 team, but the Quakers field hockey program has been so dominant of late, expectations were high coming into this season. "Winning three straight titles is always tough," Sage said. "Everyone seemed to be gunning for us a bit harder. I also think our expectations were a bit too high, but that's what happens when you are as successful as we have been." Despite the disappointment in not capturing a third consecutive Ivy title, the Quakers have not lost sight of reality -- the current seniors have played fantastic hockey during the last three years and are singlehandedly responsible for turning around a lackluster program. "The effort these girls have given the last three years has been incredible," Sage said. "Our team was suffering when they arrived, but look at what we have accomplished with them. It has been great." The players themselves are also aware of the situation. "It's a sentimental time because we have a great group of seniors," Kauffman said. "[Franklin Field] is the best field I've ever played on. There's nothing like it. It's sad. "But we have been having a lot of fun the last couple of weeks. We have played great games, and hopefully we'll continue to play hard to the end of the season." These Quakers have much to be proud of -- two consecutive Ivy League championships, a trip to the NCAA tournament, an undefeated Ivy season, a rare victory over Temple, in addition to close contests against perennial-powers Maryland, Delaware and Penn State. With just one game left on the schedule and a very minimal chance of postseason play, it is time to bid farewell to a fantastic collection of seniors who have provided Penn with many field hockey thrills the last four years. Not the least of which was Saturday's 1-0 victory over Ivy-rival Yale.