Another tough one-goal loss for F. Hockey

Last night, while many Penn students watched the Yankees playoff game in anticipation of a New York subway series, few realized that a SEPTA series was taking place right in their own backyard. The Yankees game apparently drew more attention, as few Penn students turned out for the field hockey team's game at a frigid Franklin Field versus cross-town rival Temple. The Owls (5-10) scored a first-half goal and hung on to beat the Quakers, 1-0. This marked the only time this season that Penn has been shut out. Last night's game revealed that the Quakers (2-7) and the Owls have more in common than just Philadelphia. Both teams were evenly matched and effectively cancelled the other out for most of the contest. Both seemed to be stronger on defense than offense, with the offense from both teams often looking disorganized in front of the other team's goal. Both Penn and Temple were also able to keep the ball in front of the other team's goal for long periods of time, but never seemed able to use these opportunities to score. "I think [both teams] are equal. It's always, with inter-city rivals. Both teams are really eager to have bragging rights, and I think it's always a battle," Temple coach Lauren Fuchs said. "Even if one team is having a great season and the other is struggling, it's always a battle." The biggest factor that set these teams apart last night, despite their relatively even performances, was that Temple went home with the win. With only a few minutes left in the first half, Temple forward Julie Martinez scored the only goal of the game off of a fast break by the Owls. "With their goal... we didn't get ourselves sorted out as well on defense fast enough, and they just beat us down," senior co-captain Amna Nawaz said. "They're a fast team... and we didn't block them as fast as we could have." The teams battled back and forth during the second half of play, with Penn dominating slightly in terms of time spent in front of the other teams goal. As the final 10 minutes ticked away, the Quakers showed an increased determination to settle the score with Temple. Within a four-minute period, the Quakers were awarded eight corners due to their aggressive push toward Temple's goal. Despite Penn's determination, however, they were unable to turn these opportunities into a goal. As the final five minutes ticked away, Penn and Temple battled back and forth down the field in a dead heat that reflected the tone of most of the game. "We just couldn't put the ball in. My defense played superb, and our midfielders did a good job," Penn coach Val Cloud said. "We got the ball up there enough. I'm haven't seen the stats, but I'm sure we totally dominated in corners and shots." "But stats don't mean anything if the win column doesn't show anything," Cloud said. "It's really frustrating because I think this is the first game we've been shut out.... I thought we would come back because we did have our opportunities obviously with all those corners. But we just couldn't get it in." After losing last night's cross-town rivalry, Penn will test their skills in a cross-country rivalry. The Quakers will fly this weekend to California to face Stanford, UC-Berkeley and Pacific in fall break action.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.