Canuso-Bedesem's goal lifts F. Hockey

Quakers squeak by St. Joe's,Quakers squeak by St. Joe's,1-0, in season opener Sometimes, it doesn't have to be pretty to get the job done. The Penn field hockey team (1-0) won its season opener last night at Franklin Field, defeating St. Joseph's, 1-0. Penn captain Michele Canuso-Bedesem scored the game's only goal with 13 minutes, 23 seconds remaining in the first half to put the inconsisently played game in the Quakers' favor. "We were lucky to win the game," Penn coach Val Cloud said. "I expected us to come out with a little more aggression. It just looked like we were so hesitant and slow and predictable. I think St. Joe's outplayed us." After Canuso-Bedesem scored the goal heading into halftime, the Quakers struggled in the second half to keep the Hawks (0-3) from attacking their goal. St. Joe's consistently pushed the ball to the Quakers' end of the field. Their final attack surge came with less than one minute remaining in the game, when Penn recorded three consecutive fouls in the yellow circle surrounding their goal. After missing off each of the first two penalty corners, St. Joe's final shot on goal, with 15 seconds left, nicked the outside corner of the left goal post and went wide. Penn goalie Sarah Dunn, who last year saved 21 shots in a 2-1 Penn victory over the Hawks, blocked 7 shots en route to recording her first shutout this year. "Sarah was outstanding," Cloud said. "She saved us a lot? We played defense probably three quarters of the game. We just didn't take charge of the game and didn't take charge of the ball." In addition to Dunn's solid play, the other highlights for the Quakers were the contributions of their freshmen. Four freshman played in the game for Penn, led by starting midfielders Leah Bills and Maureen Flynn. "[The freshmen] all worked hard this summer to prepare," said Bills, who recovered from shin splints in time for the season opener. "When I first walked out on the field and looked around, it kind of blew me away. But once I just got in there and got rid of the butterflies, it just felt like another game." "I was really pleased with what our freshman did," Cloud said. "They gave us a lot of spark and aggression." Cloud is optimistic about her team's chances of improvement as the season wears on. "Being the first game, we have a long way to go. But we have the potential here to play very well? For the next game, we'll be looking to play more aggressive defense and be quicker in transition." Despite the flawed Penn performance, the bottom line for the Quakers is that its record stands at 1-0. "I think we learned a lot this game," Bills said. "We're trying a lot of different combinations and seeing how different lineups work. It was a little bit scrappy at the end, but we pulled through and got the win? This is one of the best teams I've ever played on, and I think it's going to be a great season." Penn's next game is on Sunday, when they will travel to Villanova to take on the Wildcats. The Red and Blue defeated Villanova last year by a 2-1 margin.

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