F. Hockey needs to stay unbeaten

As the Penn field hockey team enters the final stretch of its schedule, dreams of an Ivy League championship and postseason play remain alive. Of the Quakers' final five opponents, four -- Penn State, Maryland, Yale and Princeton -- were ranked in the NCAA Division I field hockey poll last week. Penn already had its shot at the No. 4 Nittany Lions, but came away with a 3-1 loss Tuesday. The final four games will determine not only the Ivy championship, but also the seedings in the NCAA's national championship tournament. Tomorrow's 10 a.m. matchup with Brown (3-9, 0-3 Ivy League) at Franklin Field would appear to be Penn's one remaining breather on the schedule. But with an undefeated Ivy record on the line, the Quakers (9-4, 3-0) will not have a chance to rest. Trailing No. 19 Princeton by a half-game in the conference standings, Penn has to come away with a win against the Bears to have any realistic shot at the Ivy crown. The Quakers will probably have to make it to the season-finale showdown with the Tigers undefeated in the conference if an Ivy title is to be won. So despite Brown's less-than-eye-popping record, Penn will have to be sharp. A loss would cripple any chance at the Ivy title. Fortunately for the Quakers, the Bears lack the talent of the premier Ivy teams, like Princeton and Yale. Brown is in last place for a reason. Its offense is one-dimensional, its defense porous and its goaltending shaky. A quick glance at the Ivy leader board reveals a lack of Brown representatives. While Princeton, Cornell, Yale, Penn and Harvard all have at least two players in the top 12 in scoring, the Bears have no one. Brown's top goaltender, Kelly MacKinnon, is last in the league in goals-against-average at a very high 2.08. MacKinnon also has a disastrous .800 save percentage, compared to the .886 percentage sported by Penn's Sarah Dunn. The Bears' three wins came against Siena, Fairfield and West Chester -- hardly a who's who list of field hockey powers (although Penn did lose to West Chester). But although Brown's credentials may not match up to those of No. 3 Maryland, who the Quakers play Tuesday, a win against the Bears is far more crucial. Princeton, leading the Ancient Eight at 4-0, is not likely to lose to Harvard tomorrow. Assuming the Tigers do win tomorrow, Penn will have to beat both Brown and Yale to force a winner-takes-all matchup with Princeton. The Quakers have always managed to step up their play against Ivy rivals. Embarrassments, such as the West Chester loss, have been confined to out-of-conference play. "It's not that we don't play as hard against non-conference opponents," junior defenseman Curran Kelly said. "But in Ivy games, we just try to step it up another notch." Even Dunn, with her near-flawless 1.05 GAA, has managed to elevate her game in the Ivies. Against Ancient Eight foes, Dunn allows a mere .67 goals per game -- best in the league. With two goals against Cornell last Sunday, senior defenseman Sue Quinn moved into third place in Ivy scoring. Senior forward Kara Philbin is seventh in the league. Considering most of the players at the top of the list have a game at hand makes these accomplishments all the more impressive for the Quakers' stars. The Brown game is not only a game that should be won by Penn. It is a game that must be won by Penn.