Unlucky.
The Penn field hockey team's road woes continued this Saturday in Hanover, N.H, despite outshooting and outplaying host Dartmouth (4-3, 2-1 Ivy League).
The Big Green fought off a desperate Penn rally in the final reel to knock off the struggling Quakers (2-6, 0-3) at Scully-Fahey Field, 4-3.
Penn is winless in four games on the road.
The Quakers are currently in a three-way tie with Columbia and Yale for last place in the Ivy League.
After parlaying a 2-0 Ivy League start into a serious run for the Ivy League championship in 2001, the Penn faithful were fairly optimistic about the Quakers' title hopes this fall.
But following a pair of losses to Cornell and Dartmouth, and with games pending against undefeated Harvard and Princeton, it appears that any such prospects are in jeopardy.
The Penn attack looked sharp in the early going, controlling the flow with a precise passing game. Cecelia Carriquiry, Jackie Lange and Liz Lorelli each contributed to the Penn attack, constantly challenging Dartmouth goalkeeper Lauren Balukjian.
Senior forward Anna Mitchell finally broke through at the 18:39 mark with her first goal of the season, but Dartmouth's Rebekka Stucker equalized just minutes later off a Carolyn Steele pass.
The senior Steele put the Big Green ahead just before halftime, stealing a goal off a penalty corner. Lauren Welsh and Averill Doering assisted for the Big Green.
Penn's normally problematic offense was putting the ball on net, but the Dartmouth defense -- behind the freshman Balukjian -- weathered the storm admirably.
The Quakers finally got a break early in the second half, when freshman Lea Salese scored off a feed from captain Jakobowski to knot the score at two goals apiece.
But the tie was short-lived, as successive goals by Welsh and Steele opened a two goal lead. With the Dartmouth defense constricting and just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation, the Quakers looked doomed.
Jakobowski's late goal off a corner brought Penn within one and ignited a Penn offensive flurry. The Quakers maintained possession through the final minutes and continued to threaten, but time ran out before they could tie the score again.
Throughout Penn's extended offensive trials, Penn coach Val Cloud has repeatedly stressed the importance of forcing penalty corners. On Saturday, the Red and Blue managed to force a respectable eight, but capitalized only on Jakobowski's late tally.
Dartmouth's Balukjian was a big part of that success, recording six saves for the Big Green while improving her record to 3-1. She was particularly outstanding in the second half as Penn fought to come from behind, stopping five shots.
Penn returns to action Wednesday night, opening a four-game homestand against crosstown rival Temple.
The Owls (5-6) have rebounded from an abysmal start -- dropping six of their first seven -- to win their last four contests, including a 3-2 overtime win at No. 14 Delaware.
Junior Melissa DeCesaris found the back of the net three times out of the midfield last week, including the Golden Goal against the highly touted Blue Hens. As a result, she garnered Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors.
Game time is 7 p.m at Franklin Field on Wednesday.
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