Field Hockey opens with two hard losses

Two tough losses this weekend didn't kill the confidence of the Penn field hockey team. The Quakers believe it will be a great learning experience instead.

The team -- which is trying to establish itself after a tough last season -- began its year with a pair of losses, falling to St. Joseph's, 3-2, on Friday before being blanked by Ohio State, 4-0, at Franklin Field yesterday.

"We didn't expect to get the win [against Ohio State]," Penn head coach Val Cloud said. "We scheduled it to learn."

In Friday's season opener, the Quakers jumped on the Hawks early with two goals in the first 20 minutes.

Junior midfielder Kylee Jakobowski, with the aid of an assist by junior middie Mandy Doherty, and senior forward Maria Karas provided the early offense. Each got the ball past St. Joe's goalie Lauren Bradley.

After the early goals, Bradley settled down and shut the Red and Blue out the rest of the way.

And without star goaltender Carrie Wilhelm, who missed the match due to a knee injury incurred in the preseason, Penn's early lead failed to hold.

The Hawks scored three unanswered goals against backup goalie Emily Fox, with the game-winner coming from Kathy Skolaski 21 minutes into the second half.

The match against perennial power Ohio State, who finished last season ranked 16th in the nation, was not as close.

Senior Buckeyes forward Marije von Nouhuys, a native of the Netherlands, had a hand in each of OSU's goals, scoring twice and recording a pair of assists.

"She's a very skillful player and the past two weeks especially she's been on a roll," Ohio State head coach Anne Wilkinson said. "She's always tough to play against and today, unlike last game against Drexel where she set people up, she was able to finish."

"If we had one of those on our team it would be a very different story," Cloud said. "Other than the goals late I thought we did a good job on her."

The Quakers were hanging tough with the Buckeyes at the half, trailing only 1-0 after a goal by Ohio State forward Kamille Butcher. That Penn was in the match at all was a tribute to the stellar play of Wilhelm, who was healthy for Sunday's game.

She finished the afternoon with 16 saves, most of which were quality scoring chances.

"She was just outstanding for us," Cloud said.

Wilhelm herself was not as pleased with the performance.

"I don't remember the saves as much as the goals," the goalie said. "[Von Nouhuys] went into the corner and centered well."

In the end, despite Wilhelm and solid defense from senior captain Monique Horshaw, the Quakers utter lack of offense caught up with them. The Red and Blue recorded no shots in the first half and finished the match with a mere four (three in one unsuccessful sequence) to the Buckeyes' 20.

Ohio State finally capitalized on the preponderance of action in Penn's defensive zone with von Nouhuys' first goal 21 minutes and 42 seconds in the second half. This was the first of three goals in six minutes in the middle of the second half that broke the game open.

Despite OSU's domination, Cloud saw many positives that can be taken away for her now 0-2 team.

"In practice we have no one pushing us like these guys can," Cloud said.

"We wanted to use this game to learn, to get quicker, sharper and to pace better. It can be a great lesson."

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