VILLANOVA, Pa. - This game had it all.
Tough physical play, broken records and inconsistent officiating were all present in the Penn field hockey team's 3-2 loss to No. 16 Villanova (9-3, 2-0 Big East) last night at Villanova Stadium.
Although the Quakers played the first half stronger than expected, the team was unable to build off the momentum of a Nyssa Liebermann goal 52 seconds before halftime.
After 'Nova freshman Emily Donaldson lit the scoreboard nine minutes into the game, Liebermann's stick somehow found the ball in a mess of shoes and shinguards and scored the first of two Penn goals.
"All it took was a little touch on it to redirect it," Liebermann said.
Going into halftime, it looked like the Quakers had enough momentum to pull off an unlikely upset. Penn had outshot Villanova 6-4 after the first 35 minutes.
Unfortunately for the Quakers, though, Villanova coach Joanie Milhous thought her team got "back to the game plan and made the adjustments that were effective."
Physical, back-and-forth play continued until the 55th minute, when Catherine Somits scored the go-ahead goal for the Wildcats.
Megan Foster added insurance after redirecting a Lauren Campanelli pass into the net to put Villanova up 3-1.
With that pass, Campanelli set Villanova's career record for assists. And as icing on the cake, it was enough to clinch a win.
Nicole Black tacked on another goal with two minutes left, but it was not enough for the Quakers to overcome the deficit.
Penn head coach Val Cloud remained optimistic about the performance despite the disappointing outcome.
"I was so proud of my team, the way they played." Cloud said.
However, she did not seem to think as highly of the competition.
Villanova is "not as good as they are ranked," she said.
This could have stemmed from the fact that both coaches felt that the referees favored the opponent. At one point in the middle of the second half, the referees had to stop play to hold a conference with an irate Cloud.
"I guess we were just voicing our opinion too much," Cloud said. "The officiating did not cost us the game, but I was not happy."
The surprisingly rowdy crowd of nearly 200 at Villanova Stadium supported its team in the intercity matchup.
And to go on the road into a hostile environment and challenge a ranked team is not an easy task.
"I think we pushed ourselves really hard," Liebermann said. "It's always great when we are down to finish with a goal."
With the loss, the Quakers drop to 3-6, 1-1 Ivy. They hope to rebound against Dartmouth on Saturday in Hanover, N.H.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats hope to increase their current win streak to six against La Salle on Saturday.
