Harvard ready for F. Hockey

After enduring a mini-slump against less talented Ursinus and West Chester squads, the Penn field hockey team rebounded with a 7-0 thrashing of Lehigh Tuesday afternoon. The turnaround could not have come at a better time, as the Quakers head into the meat of their conference schedule. Tomorrow's matchup at Harvard provides Penn with a chance to prove it belongs at the top of the Ivy League standings with Princeton. Sunday, the Quakers will return home to Franklin Field take on William and Mary at 1 p.m. At 3 p.m., following the Penn-W&M; contest, the national teams of the U.S. and Ireland will take the field as part of the pre-Olympics festivities. A win tomorrow against Harvard (2-6, 0-2 Ivy League) would move the Quakers (6-2, 1-0) into a tie with the Tigers in the early battle for Ancient Eight supremacy. The Crimson lacks the balanced attack that has become the staple of the Penn offense. Harvard is led by midfielders Carrie Shumway and Daphne Clark, who have eight points apiece, and forward Courtenay Benedict with six points. The combined scoring of the other 13 players on the roster: 1 assist. Of concern to the Quakers is the playing surface -- natural grass. If Penn has had an Achilles' heel, it has been its play on grass. In two games on natural turf, the Quakers are only 1-1, despite playing far less talented teams. "We've learned how to play on grass over the past few games," senior defenseman Jessica Gilhorn said. Although Sunday's opponent is out-of-conference William and Mary, the afternoon will be one of the highlights of the season. Following the Penn-W&M; matchup, the U.S. and Irish national teams will take the field as part of the "Road to Atlanta" tour, which travels to six American cities throughout October. In the opening act, Penn will try to defeat the Tribe (6-3) for the first time in three tries. Identifying the source of William and Mary's success requires only a perfunctory look at the season stats. Simply put, when Saskia Bensdorp scores, the Tribe wins. And Saskia Bensdorp scores a lot. Bensdorp has put up ridiculous numbers through nine games. She has notched 18 goals and two assists, giving her a total of 38 points. Bensdorp averages nearly six shots a game. To put that statistic in proportion, consider that in Penn's last game, Lehigh did not record a single shot as a team. The rest of the W&M; squad has combined for only seven goals. "We've got to step up on her," Gilhorn said. "We can't let her receive the ball. If she doesn't have the ball, she can't score." And if she doesn't score, William and Mary doesn't win.