Penn sweeps weekend set

When it first received this year's schedule, Penn's field hockey team could only have seen this past weekend as a big lemon. With two games in 24 hours, one on the road against an Ivy League rival and another versus a national powerhouse, the Quakers may well have been in for a very sour experience. Instead, the Red and Blue chose to make lemonade, knocking off Harvard 1-0 Saturday afternoon in Boston, then hopping a flight back to Philadelphia to send William & Mary, ranked No. 20 in the country, packing by the same count. With the sweep, Penn ran its record to a strong 8-2, 2-0 in Ivy competition. Penn coach Val Cloud attributed the success to the team's frame of mind coming into the weekend. "We prepared the team mentally, more than anything else, which wasn't very hard with this team," she said. "For us, it was easy getting up for these games." That exuberance was severely tested when the Quakers boarded a 7 a.m. flight to Harvard Saturday morning, only to play on a rain-soaked bog of a field in Cambridge, Mass. Indeed, the game's play mimicked the sluggish conditions as the loan goal, pounded home unassisted by Penn senior Marla Maiorano, proved to be enough to paste a loss on the Crimson for the third year in a row. Although they may have liked a more sizable cushion, the Quakers did not have much time to reflect on the result, as they hurried back to Philadelphia for their meeting with William & Mary. In stark contrast to the Crimson, William & Mary forced Penn to play at feverish pace on a Franklin Field turf drenched only by the mid-day sun. From the outset, Penn showed the visiting Tribe it could pick its level of play up a notch, raining 28 shots on William & Mary goalie Trish Griffith, many of which came on resets from the corner. The Quakers seemed to have their way throughout much of the first half, setting up camp outside the William & Mary goal mouth. The constant Quakers pounding finally proved to be too much as senior Sue Quinn broke a scoreless deadlock, crushing a shot into the lower left corner. The blast, which came with just under 13 minutes left in the opening frame, proved to be the game winner. "We were dominating throughout the first half, although not scoring was frustrating," Quinn said. "It just got to the point where we had to put one away." With the offense clicking on all cylinders, it was easy to overlook the fact the defense was in the midst of putting together probably its finest outing of the season. Coming into the game, Penn knew any real chance it had of pulling the upset would rest upon the containment of the Tribe's Dutch scoring phenom, Saskin Bensdorp. Coming into yesterday's game, the sophomore was leading the nation in scoring with 19 goals. The responsibility of shutting her down fell to senior back Jessica Gilhorn. By flanking her all afternoon, Gilhorn gave Bensdorp little room to maneuver, and even less of a chance to make anything happen. "It was really tough marking her, but I dug in because I knew it was my main job," said Gilhorn of her unenviable defensive assignment. "The rest of the defense really helped me out, which gave me a chance to recover a few times." As the game wore on, not only did the Quakers rely on their teamwork to carry them through, but the energy of the a huge crowd of local field hockey fans on hand to see the following game between the United States and Ireland. "Seeing the crowd, gave us extra motivation. We all just said, 'We're not going to lose this,' " Gilhorn said. "All the people in the stands just gave us that much more drive to win." The Quakers now have a few days to rest before they face Temple on the road Wednesday afternoon.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.