Even on Astroturf, Crimson will be tough for Field Hockey

The Houston Astrodome may be closing this season but the concept it introduced continues on the banks of the Charles. And while this year's conversion of Harvard's Cumnock Field to AstroTurf may not give the Penn field hockey team (1-4, 0-2 Ivy League) any decided advantage tomorrow, it sure beats playing the Crimson (5-2, 2-0) on grass. "Usually we have to play them on grass," Penn senior defender Brooke Jenkins said, noting that the Quakers are much more familiar with artificial turf. "[It] makes things a little bit more equal," Penn coach Val Cloud said. "[It] gets rid of the disadvantage of playing on their old grass field." Even playing on relatively smooth AstroTurf instead of rough hewn grass, the Quakers will need any and every advantage they can get to beat Harvard, ranked No. 19 in the nation. "They have a very balanced team," Penn assistant coach Donna Mulhern said of Harvard, referring to their goalkeeping and their midfield play as two of their strengths. "It's always a tough game [against Harvard]," Penn senior forward Courtney Martin said. The Quakers, who have not beaten Harvard in their last three tries, went into practice this week intent on erasing the bitter memory of last weekend's heartbreaking double overtime loss at Cornell. "[We're] trying to focus on Harvard," Penn senior forward and co-captain Maureen Flynn said. "I think we look good." According to Martin, the Quakers have been focusing on "executing the simple things." Cloud believes that one of Penn's strengths is its ability to rebound shots. The Quakers, however, are concerned about goals, which have eluded them for most of the season. "We've worked on [scoring] all week," Martin said. "It's something we need to overcome mentally. We're focusing on finishing." "We're not at 100 percent in the circle," Flynn said. "But I think we're improving." Whether the goals come or not, the Quakers are counting on another stellar goalkeeping performance this week, although they are not sure who will provide it. According to Mulhern, Penn senior goalkeeper Alison Friedman, who sprained her ankle in practice last Saturday, has markedly improved this week. Her status is not totally certain, however, for the game. "Alison had a good practice," Cloud added. "If she has a good practice tomorrow [Friday], she'll go." However, Penn sophomore goalkeeper Gerianne Kauffman, who was nothing short of amazing in place of Friedman last week at Cornell, might still get the nod. "If Alison's not 100 percent, we won't hesitate to put Kauffman in there," Cloud said. Penn will need both goals and goalkeeping to beat a tough, physical Harvard team and avoid leaving Boston 0-3 in Ivy play. "We need this game for momentum? just to turn our season around," Flynn said. And the Quakers believe that they can get one. "Nobody's expecting us to win except ourselves," Cloud said. "We've got nothing to lose, do we?"

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