Coming into this season, senior midfielder Rachel Eng had only scored four times in her 38-game Penn field hockey career. In 13 contests this year, she's already trumped that, finding the back of the net five times for the Quakers. "Rachel has become more confident," Penn coach Val Cloud said.

For the second consecutive year, the Penn women's soccer team will enter the final three weeks of play in the thick of the Ivy League race. But the Quakers (8-4-2, 2-1-1 Ivy), who did not graduate any players last season, have additional motivation now: They're trying to send off seven seniors with another Ivy title.

The women's volleyball team had scheduled its "Dig Pink" breast cancer awareness promotion before the start of the season. But with coach Kerry Carr's recent breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent mastectomy, tonight's home match against Dartmouth takes on a whole new significance.

Tomorrow, the Ivy League will be thrust into the national spotlight for the second time this season as part of a television deal with Versus. And what better way to show off the conference than with a showdown between a pair of 0-5 teams when Dartmouth travels to Columbia for the "Ivy League Game of the Week, presented by TIAA-CREF"? At the very least, whatever audience is watching will see a piece of 2008 Ancient Eight history, because one of these two squads will earn its first win of the year.

Preparation for Saturday's matchup against Yale has been keeping men's soccer coach Rudy Fuller up late at night. But strategy and scheming ahead of tomorrow's game at Yale don't have him tossing and turning in bed. It's the actual on-field practices that have Fuller burning the midnight oil.

Five games into his first season on the varsity squad, Yale quarterback Brook Hart is already playing well beyond his years, leading all Ivy signal-callers in passing efficiency. Thankfully, unlike a certain infamous Little Leaguer from his past, Hart's got the documentation to prove he's legit.

The scoreboard read 0:00, but the first half of the Penn field hockey team's game with Temple was anything but over. The Owls had committed a penalty, giving the Quakers one final play. On the ensuing corner, Rachel Eng found midfielder Kelsey Tahan in the circle.

For Natalie Capuano, it's no heat, no sleeves, no problem. The senior captain started the women's soccer team's 3-0 win over Rider last night looking a bit silly, bare-armed in the cold. But as the sleeves stayed off through halftime, she led by example. "Nat's just tough," said sophomore Sarah Friedman, who leads the team with 22 points.

Lacrosse, eh? They may not have infiltrated the sport the way Eastern Europe rules women's tennis, but Canadian high schoolers are getting a closer look from NCAA men's lacrosse programs throughout the nation, coaches say. It's a trend that is reintroducing Canada to the outdoor game - which originated near the Great Lakes - and creating new incentives for Canadian players to make themselves known in the U.

After a lot of tinkering, field hockey coach Val Cloud may have finally found her secret ingredient for success. Last Sunday against Columbia, Penn (3-10, 2-2 Ivy) moved a defender up to play midfielder. With the 3-4-2 scheme, the Red and Blue responded by playing with more cohesion and coming up with a rare victory.

It has been their mantra for two years, written plain and clear across the top of their coach's whiteboard, but never before has it seemed so relevant. The women on the Penn soccer team have lived by the phrase "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

Chances are you can't name the head coach of Penn men's soccer. Rudy Fuller? Wrong. Don't worry, even the team's media guide can't get it right. Born Brian Fuller, the Quakers' primary clipboard-wielder has carried the moniker 'Rudy' Fuller since eighth grade.

The Penn women's soccer team was held scoreless in the first half but ended up beating Rider, 3-0, tonight at Rhodes Field. Three different Quakers scored in the second half, with the first goal coming from senior captain Natalie Capuano in the 50th minute.

Just two weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a broken nose sustained in Penn's victory over Dartmouth, senior defensive back Tyson Maugle is back on the practice field and cleared to play this Saturday at Yale. The defensive leader - who is planning to become a doctor when he graduates from Penn - said he's "very surprised and very satisfied" with how quickly he healed.

After 33-plus minutes of the Penn field hockey team's game with Temple, the Quakers held a modest 2-1 lead. Then came a surprise onslaught. Kathryn Rose scored off a fast break, and right when it appeared the first half had ended, the Owls committed a penalty to give the Red and Blue one more play.

They say Chuck Bednarik, a Hall of Fame linebacker and center and a Penn grad, was the last "60-Minute Man" in football. Don't look now, but Colgate's Nate Eachus might be inheriting that throne. During the second quarter of the Raiders' 38-22 victory over Cornell on Saturday, the freshman left his spot at linebacker to take over for starting running back Jordan Scott, the leading rusher in the Football Championship Subdivision.

If a Phillies fan knows one thing, it's that the "phever" is restricted to very few outbreaks, with many a year in between. It's a disease that has been in danger of eradication for, oh, about 125 years. On Broad Street in Center City on Wednesday night, however, the symptoms were flaring: car horns trumpeting, white and red towels dangling from windows, crazed fans pouring from bars and apartments into the streets.