Sports

M. Soccer: Back at full health, but is it too late?

It's good to be healthy, and for the first time in a couple of weeks, the Penn men's soccer team is near 100 percent. Last week's games against Dartmouth and Rutgers saw a few key players either out or stuck with limited minutes because of injuries.

F. Hockey's not dead in the Ivy water yet

Against Yale on Friday, the Penn field hockey team led only for only four minutes and 21 seconds. But the Bulldogs led for even less -- 3:56, and the Quakers were in front when it counted, winning 4-3 in overtime. The team's weekend was not perfect however, as it did lose to No.

M. Hoops Notebook: McMahon will sit year out after hip surgery

Offseason hip surgery will keep Tommy McMahon on the sideline for the entirety of the upcoming basketball season, he confirmed Friday. The junior swingman, who underwent the operation over the summer, started 11 of 30 games last year and averaged five points per game.

Homework on heralded RB McLeod pays off

Coming into Saturday's game against the Bulldogs, the bulk of the defensive preparation for coach Al Bagnoli's team no doubt centered around stopping Yale tailback Mike McLeod. The junior had been torching the competition at a record-setting pace, rushing for 199 yards per game to lead the nation. Meanwhile, Penn's defense was coming off a Columbia game in which it conceded a meager eight yards on 25 carries.

They have no seniors, but they may get an Ivy crown

After last year's scoreless tie in New Haven, the Penn women's soccer team had some unfinished business heading into its weekend matchup with the Bulldogs. The Quakers finally made the nylon dance in this one, and made a little school history in the process.

Volleyball: New England rivals don't pass sniff test

In a weekend of must-win games, outside hitter Anna Shlimak made sure her squad didn't lose. Tied with Dartmouth for third on Friday afternoon, the Quakers defeated the Big Green before sweeping Harvard on Saturday. The senior led Penn to a 3-1 victory over Dartmouth with a career high 19 kills, more than any Penn player all season.

M. Soccer: Loukas' two goals crown him under the lights

Loukas Tasigianis, King of Rhodes? That moniker may be a little premature - but if he keeps playing as well as he did against Yale on Saturday night, he'll earn it. The sensational-of-late freshman netted two goals, including the extra-time gamewinner, as Penn edged out Yale 2-1 in a key Ivy matchup.

Football: Three And Out

Al Bagnoli must be a masochist if he has any fondness left at all for overtime. If he does, he is doing a good job of concealing it. Head bowed, the Penn coach walked into the postgame press conference after a 26-20 loss to Yale in three overtimes and began an eerily familiar refrain.

Andrew Scurria: When is a fluke not a fluke?

Given that Penn lost in Connecticut last year on a field goal that drifted six inches too far to the right, it would have been a superbly ironic justice if Yale's botched snap in the second overtime on Saturday had ended things for The Team That McLeod Built.

V-ball's had enough cream puffs

If the Quakers hope to get past Ivy League volleyball heavyweights Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend, they'll have to start to change a disturbing trend this season: Of their 10 wins, only two have come against teams that are .500 or better. Even more telling is the overall records of the teams they've played.

W. Soccer happy with the status quo

Riding its first 3-0 league start in three years, the Penn women's soccer team has adopted an "if-it-ain't-broke" mentality as the season barrels down the home stretch. So far, it's hard to argue with the results. Winners of four straight, including those three Ivy triumphs, Penn (9-2-1, 3-0 Ivy) hopes to stay sharp tomorrow afternoon at Rhodes Field in a pivotal Ancient Eight showdown with Yale (7-5, 2-1).

Time running out for M. Soccer

Penn men's soccer coach Rudy Fuller knows things have to get better - and fast. Just when things were starting to look up this season, his team will now have to regroup tomorrow against Yale if it hopes to remain in contention for the Ivy League title. The Quakers' recent three-game winning streak, however, was short-lived.

Football: Getcha Popcorn Ready

Meet Mike McLeod. In the words of former SportsCenter anchor Dan Patrick, "You can't stop him; you can only hope to contain him." Yale's running back has rushed for 199 yards per game this season, and he's coming off of a career-high 276-yard performance against Lehigh last week.

Ivy weekend preview: Halfway through season, guillotine has come out

Week Six seems an odd time to be cooking up title scenarios, but Yale's early dominance means it's never too soon to start talking elimination. And while the consensus No. 1 gets a tough road test tomorrow at Franklin Field, the only other unbeaten Ivy League team is getting an odd sense of deja vu this weekend.

Spanish hoops Zoller's first 'job'

He's still playing basketball, but sometimes it seems like Mark Zoller is playing soccer. In a league that features relegation and promotion, a 10-month schedule with one game per week, a foreign language and chanting fans, the former Penn forward is far from his comfort zone.

A must-win, and a probably-won't-win

As the Penn field hockey team prepares for tonight's game against Yale, the same feelings come to mind as did last season: This one is a must win. "This is an Ivy game and it is imperative that we win this one," Quakers coach Val Cloud said. Just like last year, the Quakers (6-7, 2-2 Ivy) enter their game against the Bulldogs in the middle of the Ivy League with a 2-2 record.

Yale opponent spotlight: Coach gets his wish for another Abare

Yale linebacker Bobby Abare, an All-Ivy first-teamer, is a singular menace on defense. But coach Jack Siedlecki is the first to admit that a locker room can't be filled with players as impassioned as Abare - and Siedlecki probably wouldn't want one. "The players sometimes laugh at his intensity, but he rubs off on people, no question," Siedlecki said at a media luncheon this week.

Ivy football notebook: McLeod runs into record books; Harvard runs by committee

Mike McLeod just keeps getting better. The junior waited just two weeks to break his own Yale single-game rushing record, putting up 276 in a 23-7 rout of Lehigh that was actually the Bulldogs' second-closest game of the year and the first in which they trailed.

To win in the 800m, runners try cross country on for size

Senior Tim Kaijala is used to winning races. But Penn's middle distance standout, who finished first in the 800 meters last season at the Heptagonal Championships, did not even place in his most recent race. There are no 800-meter races in October. Rather than wait for outdoor track and field to start in the spring, Kaijala has taken his training to a new level as a member of Penn's cross country team this fall.

Andrew Todres: Thank the defense for this one

NEW YORK -- Considering that the Quakers have scored a total of 101 points in their past two games, one could logically attribute the team's newfound success to its recent offensive explosion. At Columbia, the day undoubtedly belonged to senior tailback Joe Sandberg, who put together arguably the best game of his career.