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#18 and #29, Nicole Eissler; field hockey v st. joeseph's

The Penn field hockey team's overtime loss to St. Joseph's this past Friday was eerily similar to their meeting last season, even down to the identical final score of 3-2. Today at Villanova, however, the Quakers won't mind if history repeats itself. Last year, the Red and Blue avenged their loss against one Big 5 rival with a 4-2 win over the Wildcats, another city rival. However, Penn coach Val Cloud isn't sure how strongly that recent bit of history will affect her team now, since most of the current Quakers did not participate in that game. "Most of my team now wasn't on the field during that game, so I don't know if it will be as big of a confidence boost as I would like it to be," Cloud said. "But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to remind them about last season." Despite their close defeat, the youthful Quakers are hoping to build upon the game experience they are quickly gaining to even their record at 1-1. "Getting the first game out of the way should help us," Cloud said. "Playing and competing are two different things," she added. "Now that they've been on the field together during a game, they have a better idea of what to expect from each other." The Quakers were back on the field practicing only 12 hours after losing to St. Joe's. "[In practice] we spent a lot of time going to and receiving the ball, just working on execution. We have to remember to react to the ball as it is moving rather than after the fact," Cloud said. With a 2-1 record, the Wildcats are heading into tomorrow's game with a 4-2 win over Lafayette. They are expected to play a style similar to that of aggressive St. Joe's, although with greater attention to technical skill. "Villanova is more dangerous, and they have some dangerous individuals," Cloud said. "They like to hit the ball, but they also like to carry the ball. They are strong in the circle, especially getting their sticks to the ball." Above all, Cloud wants her team to continue to gain experience, confidence and skill. "It would be nice to get that win on the board to get some momentum heading into Saturday [against Harvard]," Cloud said. "They believe in themselves and what they can do. They're going in as the aggressors."

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