Penn wins Ivy opener

First-year Penn field hockey coach Val Cloud knew she couldn't take anything for granted until the final buzzer sounded. Despite a 3-0 lead for the Quakers early in the second half, the 25 minutes left to play would supply Dartmouth with more than enough opportunities to pull off the come-from-behind victory. Well, maybe on another day. The Red and Blue (4-0, 1-0 Ivy League) made the Big Green look small, defeating Hanover's hockey team by a 3-1 margin. "I definitely thought Dartmouth had a good team today," assistant coach Donna Mulhern said. "Our team was simply up for the game." After a dismal game Wednesday against Lafayette in which Penn managed to eke out a victory in the waning seconds, the Quakers knew they would have to be up and ready for their Ivy opener. "This wasn't an easy win," defenseman Curran Kelly explained, "but it did get easier since we were playing together." The game began with about 17 minutes of deadlocked action. Forward Kara Philbin, however, decided to make things more interesting. Taking a feed from midfielder Emmy Hansel, Philbin unloaded a shot that found its way into the cage. Unfortunately for the Big Green (2-3, 0-1), the Quakers weren't done. About three minutes later, captain Sue Quinn grabbed a piece of the action, scoring off assists from Philbin and Abby Herbine. Ten minutes later, when the end of the first half arrived, the scored remained 2-0. Still hungry for more, Quinn attempted to put the game out of reach. Only five minutes into the half, she did just that, knocking in her second goal in just two shots. The tally was assisted by Michele Canuso-Bedesem. Dartmouth didn't roll over, however. A mere 59 seconds later, Kathleen Hickey powered a shot through Penn keeper Sarah Dunn's pads. With 24 minutes left in the game, the Big Green and the Red and Blue were rendered all but stagnant once again. The remainder of the contest remained scoreless, though Dartmouth did have its chances. With four minutes left to play, there was a ton of confusion inside Penn's circle. After blocking a shot, Dunn's rebound went right back to several Dartmouth players. In a great effort, Dunn dove, blocking shots with her body, as she was lying on her stomach across the goal line. Two shots later, Penn's defense cleared the ball, allowing sighs of relief and cheering from the Quakers' sideline, and nothing but groans from Dartmouth's. "Our play was such an improvement," Kelly said. "From here, we can do anything." Cloud agreed: "They clicked as a team today. Everybody was ready to play. They were smart, together and quicker than Dartmouth."