Field Hockey tries again for first win

The theme of the weekend is vengeance as Penn field hockey ventures up north to take on Dartmouth (1-2) this Saturday at 1 p.m. Last season, the Quakers (0-1) allowed a 3-0 lead to slip away, succumbing to the Big Green, 4-3, in overtime. "We were winning with 12 minutes left," Penn coach Val Cloud said. "When [Dartmouth] tied it up, winning in overtime -- it left a very bad taste in our mouth." This time the action moves from the Astroturf of Franklin Field to the Dartmouth's grassy surface, giving the opposition literally the home field advantage. Few Penn opponents have grass turf this season. In fact, Dartmouth is only one of two, with Penn's following opponent, Lafayette, being the second. Penn has been practicing on nearby Drexel field for the past week in preparation for the matchup, which may alleviate the obstacle. "Dartmouth has very good short grass," sophomore midfielder Aviva Meerschwam said. "I don't think that this will affect us very much." Despite Tuesday night's defeat at the hands of Villanova, the Quakers still retain confidence about the games ahead. "We learned a lot from that game," Cloud said. "It was disappointing, but mentally we are fine. We're ready for the next challenge." The Quakers need to look for the consistency that failed them in the loss to the Big Green last fall and was also their down fall versus the Wildcats this week. Both games began with a strong start by Penn, but ended with a winning surge by the opposing team. The one-goal loss of each matchup indicates a need for the Quakers to capitalize on shot opportunities. For example, Penn missed a chance to score against the Wildcats with a misfire off a corner in Tuesday's game. Dartmouth has the same advantage coming into this Saturday that the Wildcats had Tuesday -- having played more games than the Red and Blue at this point in the season. With Dartmouth returning more of last year's starters and Penn returning none of its starting forwards, an interesting condition arises. While Dartmouth has more game experience on its offensive line, it is the same style that Penn has already seen in last year's game. Penn's offense, on the other hand, sports many new faces and has changed in style. It may be harder for Dartmouth to prepare for an unknown commodity. Whispers have also been heard that this year's version is stronger than the '97 edition of the Penn offense. The Quakers have revamped the entire offensive with a crop of juniors and sophomores led by tri-captain Maureen Flynn, who scored Penn's lone goal at Villanova. However, Saturday may see some freshman faces on the field as well, with some being more experienced on grass turf. On the flipside, Penn has experience on its side, too. The defense carries the maturity with senior tri-captains Audrey Heinel and Sarah Dunn at goal. "Even though our defense has the experience, I think our offense has become more of a scoring threat, and we have depth in our bench," Heinel said. That experience and confidence will be big factors Saturday, with Dartmouth being one of Penn's toughest opponents next to Princeton in a highly competitive Division I league. "I view it as a must-win situation." Cloud said. If the Quakers are to retain that confidence in light of last year's defeat, then indeed it is.