F. Hockey falls to Lafayette

The Penn field hockey team just can't seem to shake off its history of close games with Lafayette. Two years ago, the Quakers-Leopards matchup spilled into overtime when the game was scoreless at the end of regulation. Penn eventually won, 1-0. Last year, when Lafayette came to Franklin Field, it looked as if history would repeat itself. The score was knotted at one until the last 15 seconds when then-senior Kara Philbin scored for Penn to break the tie. This year, although the one-point deficit was the same, the victorious team wasn't. The Leopards defeated Penn (1-3, 0-1 Ivies), 1-0, yesterday at Metzgar Field. Lafayette (4-2, 1-0 Patriot League) came out strong, dominating at the start of the game. By the end of the first half, Penn began to stand its ground. But just as things started to even out, the Leopards scored on a strong drive from outside the circle. "We totally thought we'd get it back," Quakers junior Emily Hansel said. "We weren't discouraged at all by their goal." The Red and Blue came out roaring in the second half, dominating Lafayette. But while Penn had a number of chances to capitalize on corner shots, it failed to put a goal in the net, leaving the final score at 1-0. "We came out from half time and we were really psyched," Hansel said. "We had some opportunities and we just didn't score." This was the third in a string of losses Penn has incurred, after falling to Dartmouth and Villanova. But the Quakers are not becoming discouraged by their defeats. For one, Penn improved its passing game. " I think we're coming together as a team," Hansel said. "There was a lot of improvement from the past two games. Our passes between the midfield and the front line were 100 percent better." Yesterday's game was a hard one for Penn to take, given this season's evenly matched teams and the history between the Quakers and the Leopards. "It was a tough loss, definitely, because it was probably one of the closest games we've played this season, as far as the score," Hansel said. "But I think that the team was more positive after this loss just because we know that we played better than in the other games. "We can't be too upset because we have a long season ahead of us. We just have to be positive. I think that our team is really positive, and we'll come together eventually." Hopefully soon enough to defeat William & Mary Saturday at the Tribe's Busch Field.