Quakers have way with 'Neers

What could possibly be more annoying than the ugly brown uniforms the Lehigh field hockey team wore to Franklin Field last night? From an Engineers point of view, the loud, thunderous clank of the ball hitting the back of their cage again and again was surely more perturbing. Seven times during the course of the game, Penn shots went untouched into the Lehigh goal, as the Quakers wrapped up the first half of the season with a sheer blowout. Coming off a frustrating road loss to West Chester, Penn (6-2) simply went ballistic, taking advantage of the hapless Engineers at Franklin Field, 7-0. Even better for the Red and Blue was the fact everyone got a chance to play, and the game included some excellent contributions from a lot of second-string players. "It's nice having a game like this," coach Val Cloud said. "Everybody got to play, and everybody got to play a lot." Midfielder Marla Maiorano, who celebrated her 21st birthday with a pair of goals, agreed. "We did use a lot of subs, and it's nice to know that a lot of people can come in and do just as well as the people they replaced," Maiorano said. The barrage of Quakers goals began only 10 minutes into the match, as forward Abby Herbine and midfielder Sue Pierce scored within one-and-a-half minutes of each other to give Penn a 2-0 lead. Unsatisfied with that lead, Kara Philbin extended her level of production, scoring with 11 minutes left to play. Philbin has scored in seven of eight games thus far. At the half, the Red and Blue led 3-0, and the frustrated Engineers could barely break the 50-yard line. The beginning of the second half showed the talents of Maiorano. Knocking in her first goal six minutes into the half, and her second 10 minutes later, Maiorano brought Penn's total for the game to five, doubling its goal-per-game average. "There was a little more room to play," Maiorano said. "The middle was open a lot, so the ball was given to me.". Goalkeeper Sarah Dunn had a boring afternoon, having only to contend with one muffed penalty corner attempt, and no shots on goal. The Red and Blue's amazing success, although not unexpected, may lift the Quakers emotionally for their second Ivy League game at Harvard Saturday. "This game may have been a confidence-builder for people who didn't play that well, or were coming off the bench," Cloud said. "It certainly didn't prepare us for Harvard, though," she added. With the midpoint of the season upon them, Cloud still thinks the Quakers need to improve, especially in the midfield.