Tigers are last test for Penn

Curran Kelly will end herCurran Kelly will end hercollege career todayCurran Kelly will end hercollege career todayagainst No. 17 Princeton It has been a long season for the Penn field hockey team -- a season filled with ups and downs, win streaks and losing streaks, well-played games and sloppy games. But through it all the Quakers (7-9, 3-2 Ivy League) have kept their heads up and kept playing hard. And recently, their hard work has produced more improved and consistent play. "[Our time is] now, more than ever, because there has been such an improvement over the past couple weeks," Penn co-captain Curran Kelly said. Tonight the Quakers will close out their season at Princeton's 1952 Stadium, where they will take on the No. 17 Tigers. Although they are not favored to win, the Quakers have played nationally ranked teams well this season. Against Maryland, Penn held allowed only three goals in a losing effort to the Terps. And against Penn State, the Quakers again held strong before falling 3-0. Penn also held Temple scoreless until the final minutes of action in a game last month. A win tonight tonight would put the Quakers two games over .500 in the final Ivy League standings. But Princeton (5-0 Ivy League) will not be an easy test. The Tigers feature the top three scorers in the conference this season, led by Kirsty Hale with 52 points. "We're very excited and anxious to play and I think we're ready to play," Kelly said. "They're always one of our biggest rivals." The Quakers will be especially anxious tonight after their loss to the Tigers at Franklin Field in the final game of the season last year . A win would have created a tie for the Ivy League championship between Penn and Princeton, but the Quakers would have won the tie-breaker and received the automatic bid to the NCAA championships. This year the Quakers are already out of the race, but spoiling Princeton's chances is still a possibility. The good news for Penn as the season comes to an end is that it will be losing only one player from its roster. The bad news is that player is Curran Kelly. It took time at the beginning of the season for this young team to learn to play well together, and now with all but one member returning, next year's start should be a little easier. "I think they'll be great," Kelly said. "They've built a foundation" This year, the Quakers opened the season at 1-3 before jumping back over .500 by winning three straight. "I really think this could be a great game if we set our minds to it," Kelly said. "At the end of the game I'll be sad, but now I'm just anxious to play."