Senior screamer

As the team's only senior, co-captainAs the team's only senior, co-captainCurran Kelly is a vocal leader on theAs the team's only senior, co-captainCurran Kelly is a vocal leader on thePenn field hockey team. On Friday night, Curran Kelly stepped onto Franklin Field for the last field hockey gamer of her Penn career. "Yale on Friday night was probably one of the greatest athletic moments I've had at Penn," Kelly said. "There was so much emotion on the field and so much excitement that we were unstoppable. We put 100 percent into the game and gave 100 percent to each other, and that's what's most important." Kelly, the lone senior on team, has become the leader of the Quakers. As a team co-captain, she has pulled the team together in a year filled with many ups and downs. From the first time she stepped onto Franklin Field until Friday night when she stepped off, Kelly has been a leader. Some players are leaders because of their superb skills. But according to Penn coach Val Cloud, Kelly's clout comes from her off-the-field dedication. She motivates everyone else on the team to try to match her work ethic. "Nobody works harder than Curran," Cloud said. "That's day to day. She doesn't just show up for the games. She shows up to play for the practices. Particularly this year with eight freshman on our travel squad, she's been a big inspiration to them. "She's the epitome of the type of role model that you want your upperclassmen to be. She's the best in that category." This season, Kelly has proven herself invaluable in the team's improvement. At times this season, it looked as if the team was on the brink of complete collapse. When the Quakers lost their first two Ivy League matches to Dartmouth and Harvard, things did not look positive. But the team regrouped and fought to improve its play. And it paid off. Penn held tough against national powerhouses Maryland and Penn State, losing just 3-0 to teams. Everything finally came together in the emotional home farewell victory against Yale. Through it all, Kelly has been supporting the team emotionally and pulling them together on the field. "She has that ability to bring a group together, even during the lower moments of this season, trying to put it all together, " Cloud said. Kelly, a native of Doylestown, Pa., began her field hockey career in elementary school playing on Saturday mornings. By high school, Kelly was the captain of both the field hockey and lacrosse teams, and, as a junior, she led her team to the field hockey state championships. Athletics have always been important to Kelly, who plays both field hockey and lacrosse at Penn. What is important to Kelly in athletics is not so much the wins and losses or the glory, but the devotion between teammates. "Everyone has a lot of respect for Curran," Quakers junior Tara Childs said. "But at the same time we're all very close and very good friends." Kelly's biggest attribute as a leader is her desire to build the bonds on a team that continue off the field. Kelly does not see a team as a group of individuals, but as a family, a support group for each other. "The support that I have gotten from the team has been the most wonderful thing," Kelly said. "That's probably why I'm so emotional about these teams and about sports. A teammate is a sister or a brother. Field hockey and lacrosse are my family at Penn."