Field Hockey drops heartbreaker in OT

Cornell scored in the second overtime period to beat the Quakers. For most of Sunday afternoon, Penn sophomore goalkeeper Gerianne Kauffman made the Big Red see red. But Cornell forward Kelly Boutin scored on a controversial penalty stroke with 10:06 remaining in the second overtime to hand the Penn field hockey team a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y. Kauffman, a first-year goalie making her first start ever, made eight saves in the stead of starter Alison Friedman, who had injured her ankle during practice on Saturday. Her play was described succinctly by Penn coach Val Cloud as "awesome." "[Kauffman was] incredible," Penn senior forward and co-captain Leah Bills said. "She played like any Division I goalie." While Kauffman said that she was "generally happy" with her play, she was resigned to the fact that there was nothing she could have done on the near-perfect penalty stroke that ended the game. On the previous play, Kauffman was penalized for allegedly sweeping the ball out onto the field with her glove. Kauffman, along with the rest of the Penn team, felt that she had blocked the ball with her boot but did not find out why the penalty stroke had been called until after the game. "I was a lot more upset [then]," Kauffman said. As spectacular as Kauffman was, an inability to finish kept Penn from its first Ivy win this year. "We haven't been scoring," Bills said. "We never thought they were better than us.? I don't really know how to explain it." Bills notched Penn's only goal with 21:56 left in the first half when the ball ricocheted off her stick and off a defender's stick past Cornell goalkeeper Maureen Sullivan, giving Penn a 1-0 lead. Penn senior forward Courtney Martin was credited with the assist. After Cornell forward Sarah Walton tied it at one with 4:42 left in the half, a chance for Penn to regain the lead fell by the wayside when Bills missed a penalty stroke with 21:57 left in the second half. According to Bills, Sullivan made a quick reaction to make the save. Bills said the missed chance was a shame. The loss dropped Penn to 0-2 in Ivy competition and turned its game at Harvard this Saturday into a crucial match. While the Quakers are optimistic about playing Harvard, there is no question that their loss at Cornell stung. "Any loss hurts," said Bills. "Any Ivy loss is especially painful."