Despite dominating, Penn falls in overtime

Ewe. That word can either be a synonym for the Lady Rams of West Chester, or describe the outcome of the Penn field hockey game against them. In a game that answered the Astrodome-old question -- which is better, a lush grass playing field with lines chalked with precision, or plastic turf with its painted lines -- the Quakers lost, partly because of the slower game of a grass field. The Red and Blue boarded its bus this Saturday to finish its two-game road trip in West Chester, Pa. against the Rams, a team the Quakers had beaten four times in a row. Playing on grass, Penn (5-2) succumbed to a slower, more physically demanding game, and just couldn't pull off what looked like it would be an easy win. After a reasonably balanced first half, the Quakers stepped up and dominated the second half, hardly ever letting the Lady Rams over the 50-yard line. Penn attacked and attacked, yet at the end of regulation -- after a lone Penn goal by Amy Shapiro -- the score was tied 1-1. The Red and Blue continued their dominance into overtime, continuously attacking the West Chester circle, creating more than enough corner penalty shots. The Quakers just couldn't score. "The [West Chester] goalkeeper wasn't that spectacular," Penn coach Val Cloud said. "They were very strong and physical in the circle. We jumped in there and they always got it out. We kept coming at them, but they were persistent." Unfortunately for Penn, the Lady Rams created an opportunity for themselves. With about 10 seconds left in overtime, the Penn defense had the ball after a weak West Chester attack. As the Quakers and Lady Rams retreated up the field in anticipation of clearing the ball, a West Chester defender intercepted the ball, putting herself behind all the defenders -- and leaving herself with an open cage. After a save on the first shot, Penn goalkeeper Sarah Dunn had left the cage undefended, and West Chester simply put the rebound into the open net for the victory. Looking back, there shouldn't have been any reason for the Quakers to lose. Sure, the team practices mostly on turf in Franklin Field, but it also schedules a few random practices on grass-laden Bower Field. As Cloud pointed out, however, Bower Field is simply not good enough for their practices. "Its exceptionally slow," Cloud explained. "Its too slow and doesn't compare to the grass fields we play on." Since the Quakers did play well, the team isn't too upset about its performance. "We were frustrated that we didn't win, but it would have been a lot worse if we played poorly. Also, the Ivy League is our main focus, so it could have been worse," forward Abby Herbine said.