No. 11 William and Mary too tough for F. Hockey

Another top-ranked opponent resulted in yet another tough loss for the Penn field hockey team on Sunday.

The Quakers fell, 4-1, to No. 11 William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

The loss to the nationally ranked Tribe (6-2) came two weeks after Penn (0-4) lost by a 4-0 score to another ranked team, No. 16 Ohio State, at Franklin Field. The Quakers' other two losses, however, came by one goal each.

Despite the final score of Sunday's contest, the Red and Blue feel there are some positives to be taken from the match.

"We worked really hard on defense," Penn senior co-captain Monique Horshaw said. "Even though it might not have seemed like it at times, I felt we did a good job against the opponent. We played well for the whole game and we have to build on that."

William and Mary, though, simply played better.

"It was a tough game against a good team," Penn junior defenseman Brandi Alexander said. "I thought we played a very good game."

Despite the stingy Penn defense that kept the game at a scoreless tie for the first 21 minutes of the game, Tribe freshmen Robin Glasco and Sydney Schell each notched their first career goals in the first half.

William and Mary's offense was able to keep the Quakers pinned in their own end with such consistency that Penn did not record a single shot on goal in the first half of play.

"We need to be more aggressive to the ball," Horshaw said. "We have to keep the ball in the offensive zone longer, since we're only getting one or two goals a game."

Alexander did not mince words on the subject.

"We just need to get the ball in the goal," she said.

In the second half, Penn senior midfielder Aparna Wilder scored with 19:12 remaining to make the score 2-1. She took a blocked shot and blasted it past Tribe goalie Claire Miller.

It was the senior's first goal of the season.

That, however, was the closest the Quakers would come. Junior Ann Eckberg and senior Katie Silverthorne both scored in the final 10 minutes for William and Mary to put the game out of reach.

Sophomore Carrie Wilhelm played the whole game in net for the Quakers and recorded four saves on the afternoon.

Heading into the team's next match at West Chester -- one of only two games remaining before the Ivy League schedule begins -- the Quakers will attempt to put the tough losses to quality opponents behind them.

"We're just trying to keep practice positive," Horshaw said. "That's about the only thing we can do."

Said Alexander, "We just need to keep up the intensity that we have shown so far."

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