After the Penn field hockey team couldn't get going in the first half of either of its games this weekend, coach Val Cloud could think of only one solution to remedy her squad's slow starts.
"Put a bomb under them," Cloud said. "I'm at wits end."
The Quakers fell to William & Mary, 3-2, on Saturday and to Virginia Commonwealth, 3-1, yesterday. Penn outscored its opponents, 2-1, in the second half, but before the break, was outscored, 4-1.
Cloud and her players don't think the sluggishness reflects a lack of ability.
"We're capable of coming out strong, we're just not doing it," Cloud said. "I think that it's more mental than anything."
Nor can the disappointing results be explained by lack of effort.
"It was hot and humid, and the way we pushed through that was really great," said senior Margaretha Ehret, who scored Penn's only goal yesterday. "Now, we need to figure out a balance between working hard and working with a purpose and all on the same page."
After allowing the Tribe (1-4) one goal in the first and another right after halftime on Saturday, Penn (1-4) woke up in the 41st minute with a goal from senior Rachel Eng. Ten minutes later, sophomore Laurel McGarvie tied the score. The Quakers had ample chances to win the game, as they outshot William & Mary in the second half, 11-4, but despite finding their stride, they couldn't avoid overtime in the sweltering 97-degree heat. The Tribe scored the game-winner in the 73rd minute.
It was much of the same story on the scoreboard for the Quakers yesterday. VCU's Marle van Dessel picked up a hat trick in a four-minute span in the first half before Ehret notched her tally.
Yet yesterday was especially disappointing for the Red and Blue, as they got going earlier but could not score.
"For the first 10 minutes we actually did control the ball," Ehret said.
"We were excited because normally we don't come out of the gates like that. Not putting it in in those first five minutes was a little frustrating for all of us."
The Red and Blue showed some defensive life against VCU (4-2), although their pressure couldn't stop the duo of Van Dessel and her twin sister, Flore. The Dutch-born twins connected on two of the three Rams' goals, with Flore assisting Marle. The pair has been the Rams' offensive stars this season: Marle, whose offensive explosion doubled her season goal total, is VCU's leading scorer, and Flore, whose two helpers bumped her total to six on the season, leads her team in assists.
"We really concentrated on our press in the first half," Ehret said. "I think that is something we need to keep with us in the games, to just focus on coming at them hard with a strong press and not letting them get the ball."
For now, Cloud will try anything she can to shake things up.
"Maybe we just have to change the lineup in the beginning of the game," she said. "We're capable of coming out strong, we're just not doing it."
