If there were any doubts about the intensity of the cross-town rivalry developing between Penn and Villanova, last night's game should have silenced them.

After beating Rutgers by a combined score of 7-0 in the last two years, Penn junior Meghan Rose found out yesterday that a third victory against the Scarlet Knights would not come with such a lopsided score - if at all. That lightbulb likely went off even before the field hockey team found itself headed into overtime when the frustrated Quakers found itself tied 1-1 with its unspectacular opponents - despite nearly outshooting them by double digits.

Despite losing the battles of possession time and shots on goal, Harvard women's soccer managed to continue its dominance over Penn. The previously winless Crimson (1-6-1, 1-0 Ivy) improved to 12-2-2 all-time versus their Ivy rivals, escaping Rhodes Field with a 2-1 victory yesterday afternoon.

The score of Saturday night's game was just an illusion. If someone walked into Franklin Field during the last two-and-a-half minutes of the game and saw the scoreboard, they might assume that this had been a neck-and-neck contest all the way. They would be wrong.

The men's soccer team wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. After taking a lead against Harvard, the Quakers didn't wilt like they did against La Salle last Wednesday - they came back for more. Penn ended up a 3-1 winner, putting itself at the top of the Ivy League standings after the first weekend of league play.

Philadelphia soccer fans aren't likely to see Major League Soccer at Franklin Field - or any other local area venue - anytime soon. Rowan University and the Milestone Group - a New York-based development group - jointly proposed to build a soccer stadium on Rowan's West Campus in Harrison Township, N.

The last time the Villanova football team was on Franklin Field, the Wildcats had just sacked Quakers' quarterback Pat McDermott inside the 5 at the buzzer to put the finishing touches on a 28-24 comeback victory.

If there were ever a time for a wake-up call, this might have been it. On Wednesday, the men's soccer team saw its four-game winning streak cruelly snapped by La Salle. After going 2-0 up against the Explorers, Penn (4-2-0) conceded three straight to its city rival and fell, 3-2.

Villanova backup quarterback Frank Jankowski lived out every signal caller's dream by leading the Wildcats back from a 24-7 deficit to beat Penn last year - but Marvin Burroughs could only watch. The starting quarterback had broken his arm in two places two weeks earlier in the Wildcats' game against Rutgers, and he missed the entire 2005 season.

The women's soccer team probably thought its game against Temple on Wednesday would serve as the perfect way to gain momentum for the Ivy opener against Harvard. Twenty-one shots and 21 misses later, the Quakers (4-1-1) found themselves trying to regain their composure and bounce back against a battle-tested Crimson team.

With no postseason to shoot for in non-conference action, Week 1 for Ivy teams is about figuring out weaknesses in time for league play. For four coaches, whose teams open their Ivy schedules tomorrow, they better hope their players are quick learners. Harvard (1-0) at Brown (1-0) The marquee early-season matchup pits the last two Ivy League champions against each other, and both look a little different this season.

At first glance, nothing about Wharton MBA student Neal Mueller seems out of the ordinary.

Not a setback, coach Rudy Fuller said. Just a wake-up call. Terminology aside, the men's soccer team pulled defeat from the clutches of victory last night. After going ahead 2-0 in the opening 25 minutes, Penn conceded three straight goals to La Salle and lost at McCarthy Stadium, 3-2.

AMBLER, Pa. - There were plenty of perplexing things about the women's soccer game at Temple yesterday. How did Penn manage to get off 21 shots? How could Temple muster only three? But most bewildering of all - how did the Owls walk away with the win? Temple managed to take down a clearly superior Penn squad 2-0 at Ambler Field in a game that the Quakers (4-1-1) would like to forget.

On Oct. 6, 1965, one of the most famous events in Jewish sports history occurred, and nothing happened. Sandy Koufax chose not to pitch Game 1 of the World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Minnesota Twins because it fell on Yom Kippur. This coming weekend, Jews will be celebrating their new year, Rosh Hashanah.

Last night the field hockey team made it more clear than ever that Penn is indeed not Penn State. And the No. 8 Nittany Lions certainly had reason to be proud that they are not Penn. They pounded the Quakers 3-0 for Penn's second consecutive loss and its fifth defeat on the season as Penn State garnered its seventh consecutive win.

A lion of a task awaits the Penn field hockey team.